Running From Your Shadow
by Ochita
Summary: Soujiro meets someone faster then him. SouOC
1. The Begining

Disclaimer: Do not own very muchly so…but I wish I owned Sou-kun :)

**Thinking  
**

Japan, 1887, Seta Soujiro was strolling almost leisurely through the forest in the midst of a chilly autumn afternoon, clouds overcast even though a harsh rain had just spilt from the sky. The sharp wind bit at his skin but that did in know way draw the smiling man to show any sign of being affected besides the fact that said breeze blowing into his rain soaked body was turning his skin a very becoming blue. One, may the author add, that matched his Gi, Hakama, and eyes all to perfectly. Despite his cheerful appearance the former assassin's mind was in a fit of chaos and frustration, not quite feeling the emotion but never the less, his mind showing symptoms of it.

_I've learned absolutely nothing! Save that it's rewarding in its own way to help people. I still don't know what my answer is. I don't even know what type of truth I'm looking for!_

Soujiro shivered as his stomach grumbled, the rumbling sound snapping him to attention before forcing him back inside his own head.

_When was the last time I ate? No wonder Himura-san seems insane, enough of this and I'm going to loose it too._

The blue eyed, dark chocolate haired, ex-assassin was a bit too absorbed in his own thoughts, barely noticing the warm and fuzzy feeling he soon began to gain.

_This is odd… What's going on? Why is everything flickering? Why am I so warm? I've felt this way before but when?_

The short ruroni wobbled over to a river inspecting his reflection with great difficulty, wondering why such an act took so much physical exertion to do so. He would have been horrified if he'd had the energy. He was indigo.

_I'm Hypo...hypothermic._

After this shocking revelation, the ruroni's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out. A sploosh was heard as a body submerged beneath the icy water of the river.

**

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**

Fishing

_Breathing the air not meant for my lungs._

_Touching the ground not meant for my feet._

_Feeling the wind not meant for my face._

_Living the life I was not supposed to have._

_I am Ochita the unwanted.  
_  
I found the river easily, rolling up my hakama, sliding my gi off my shoulders to let it hang around my waist, and dipping my arms into the frigid water to get used to the cold…not that I had to, I couldn't really feel it anyway. I had a covering over my chest and shoulders made of black bandages. Kasoku wouldn't mind, he was what...3 years old, max? I didn't have any tabi on because I possess an odd phobia for the white socks. Wading around idly in the water, I came to a spot I found suitable for fishing. I let my hands dangle in the frigid water until I snapped them up, a fish in my hands.

I heard Kasoku giggle, "Oka! Oka!"

That's generally what his vocabulary consists of. I threw the fish into the pit I had made at the side of the river. Kasoku squealed happily.

This is how I slowly gained back my soul; the kid gives it back to me. A child whose parents were killed by bandits, but before they killed him I happened to wander by. I took care of them and let's leave it at that. The kid passed out and when he woke up he was stubbornly convinced I was his mother.

'Mother' was something I would never have thought I'd be called through out the entirety of my life. If that is what he calls me then I'll call him Kasoku or 'family'. I caught another fish and he let out another "Oka! Oka!"

I wanted to smile had I known how, but it seems I have forgotten. I don't really feel any emotions mostly due to the fact that I've completely forgotten how. Too bad I suppose; but I wasn't really sorry. You had to be remorseful to be sorry and I wasn't. Not for that anyway. I had something to be sorry about that was a lot more necessary to beat myself up over.

I let my hands once again enter the cold water and I waited. I grabbed something but I'm pretty sure it is not a fish. It is heavy. My eyesight is not so good because I happen to be diurnally blind. Everything in daylight looks like one of those western inkblot tests. I picked up the water-logged object and lugged it out of the river. It sputtered and coughed, chest heaving for air until the figure's breath became shallow.

A person was it? Suicide attempt perhaps? I laid it down in the shade to see what it looked like; funny how I can see without the light. It looked like a man, a very familiar one. I took off my gi, luckily dry. Laying it over the man, I and edged his clothes off of him. I then wrapped the gi around him tightly and quickly. He shivered which was good, it meant he was alive. I picked him up. For someone so much bigger then me he isn't very heavy at all. Perhaps he is a Ruroni like me.

"Kasoku," I spoke to the little boy.

Something rare, I usually just let him blither on. Of course there wasn't much for him to say. It is like that when you can only say one word I suppose. I jerked my head in a direction symbolizing 'come' so he did. We walked back to the camp I had made earlier. Laying the man down by Kasoku who immediately jumped on him and curled up against the young man like a cat, sputtering out something I didn't understand. I lit the fire and walked back to the river to get the fish. When I arrived, I decided that it might be a good idea to take a bath. I liked being clean. So I did. I did not wash my clothes though; it was to cold to do something so risky. I knew I could catch pneumonia doing this but the thought of being clean was to tempting.

Clean meant I could pretend to wash my past sins away. It would never happen. Even if I repented to the end of time it would never happen. My life is a privilege I shouldn't have, but also a miserable curse I deserve. I am Ochita the unwanted.

**

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**

Jumping to conclusions

Soujiro awoke his ever present smile stretched across his face. He still smiled in spite of the fact that he felt like a stubbed toe, looking down, feeling a small weight. There, on his lap, was a little boy who currently slept peacefully, small noises floating through the air as he breathed in and out. Soujiro tried to push the little boy off not understanding how said child had gotten there in the first place, but he woke up.

"Otou!" the kid shouted happily.

_Otou? The child thinks I'm his father?_

Soujiro was confused. He thought back and remembered he fell in the river.

_My hair is wet but I'm not_.

He was wearing something of a faded out forest green color, realizing the piece of cloth (if it could even be classified as such) happened to be a very ratty gi. The little boy snuggled closer to Soujiro, murmuring something incoherent.

"Ara?" the young man asked the little boy in a state of confusion.

The boy rubbed his eyes, jumped up and began running in circles shouting happily. He then ran into the meadow of which they were sitting in. the little boy then ran away. Soujiro sat there wondering what he should do. Just then he heard the gentle pitter patter of the boy's feet running back to him. The child held a bunch of wild flowers in his hands and some of them stuck out of his messy dark jade colored hair. He looked up with pale mint green eyes and squealed throwing the flowers in the air over Soujiro. The ruroni smiled at the little boy; more of a real smile, not as emotionless as the others. The kid had a strange affect on him, as though his normally content mood could be heightened to something a bit more.

Just then someone came across the field striding to the fire. The figure was wearing a battered old gray hat and a covering made out of bandages on the person's chest, as well as a hakama. It had a black poll on its back and two black ringed blades on its hip. A longer than usual looking sword was clipped to its obi. It walked towards the little boy and began to unsheathe its blade.

_He's here to kill the child._

His mind raced and he grabbed his nihontou. He tapped his feet at went to strike down the figure. It blocked with practiced ease.

_If they have a longer sword it should be harder for them to fight me. How can they block me? I show not my ki so how can they possibly anticipate my attack?_

He struck again not using his full shukuchi thinking that the figure could not be all that great if they were sent to kill a child. Soujiro slashed again. The figure dogged in a way that made it look like a soba noodle. It stepped towards the fire and towards the child. Soujiro tapped his feet. It was time to stop playing around and just kill the fiend before it murdered the child.

Soujiro used shukuchi and didn't fool around in the way he had while fighting Himura-san. A life was at stake this time, and the ex-assassin was going to hold true to his original plan, to protect those weaker than he. The fact that his adversary was trying to kill someone so happy and innocent made Soujiro madder then hell.

"Shun Ten Satsu" he snarled and attacked.

**_Clang_**

The longer sword hit Soujiro's nihontou, a blade stained black. The ex-Tenken couldn't believe it. He attacked viciously again but the figure rocked back on its heels and smashed the butt of its sword into Soujiro's stomach. The ex-assassin went shooting backwards and smashed into the tree he had been leaning up against when he had awoken. Trying to get up, he found that the figure was already upon the child. The small boy giggled happily, the ruroni feeling nothing but knowing he should be sad as said child shouted, "Oka!"

The tiny boy leapt at the figure with an elated expression, the strange person snatching him from the air, gripping his yukata and setting him down lightly on his feet. Soujiro blinked and looked at the person's chest. It was indeed a woman. The woman sat down, unsheathed the sword, and laid it down. She took a bag that had been tied to her waist, opened it and took out a fish. She then skinned and de-boned the fish by using her sword.

"Ara?" Soujiro said aloud not understanding what exactly was happening.

_She has no intent to kill the boy?_

"Who are you?" Soujiro asked, smile plastered to his face as always.

"You may call me Ochita." The woman's voice was soft and strange.

It sounded like she wasn't paying attention to what she was saying; as though she were stuck in a daze.

"I am-" he was cut of by a simple-

"I know who you are very muchly so." Ochita spoke quietly.

She reminded him of someone but for the life of him, the young man couldn't remember the person.

"I hope you enjoy fish Seta-san, because that is all I have." Ochita said.

The twenty-two year old blushed, slightly, cautious to eating something given to him by someone he had nearly decapitated.

"You should sit down very muchly so. You seem alright, and good enough, considering the way you fought, but you just got over your hypothermia and that means you should be tired very muchly so. Let me make dinner." She rasped before clearing her throat softly.

By the way she spoke Soujiro knew she didn't talk a lot. It was slow and unpracticed.

"Gomen nasai I didn't mean to attack you so offensively, I thought-" he started before she cut him off.

"I do look the part of a killer, ne?" she inquired dazedly.

"Ara? No that's not what I meant." Soujiro sputtered, searching for an appropriate explination behind his actions.

"I know perfectly well what you meant. I was just teasing you very muchly so." She a small twitch coming to her deep black-red lips.

That little action in itself seemed strained like she was trying to show him it was a jest instead of smiling out of humor.

_What a peculiar personality; or lack thereof._

The young man sat down and picked up a fish, taking his ninhontou, from its saya, just as the girl did the same, both beginning to skin them. When they were done and she skewered both of them and put them over the fire, sighing, "Your clothes have not dried very muchly so."

Pointing up to the tree she directed the ruroni's gaze up to a branch above where his clothes hung, damp with his obi dripping slightly. Head spinning slightly he turned his blue eyes back to the girl whispering with false cheer as was his way, "you picked me up out of the river."

"Aa." She spoke gently as if she were daydreaming.

He pondered her strange use of speech, guessing that she might feel more comfortable if she spoke in a masculine style. Of what he could see of her face it was very sharp and acute, only causing him to dig deeper into his mind to find the person with a matching skull structure, the familiarity of it beginning to bug him slightly.

_Perhaps if she took off that ugly rice hat I would know._

She had saved him yet she wouldn't reveal her identity in entirety. Her hair was short but its color was like a river of blood on a dark night, sending small shivers down his spine. He leaned back against the tree, smiling yet confused.

_What does she want from me? If she knows who I am she's probably mad at me for something. Or maybe she's a disciple of Shishio-san. How does she know me? What if she was an adversary? What if she tries to murder me in my sleep? Can I trust her? If she wanted me dead she could have thrown me back in the river. But how…_

Soujiro sat there smiling while his mind was raging but he was snapped from his thoughts by Ochita as she questioned delicately, "Something wrong?"

_I am smiling, why does she think something is wrong?_

"Iie." Soujiro replied.

_How did she know I was troubled?_

"You're lying; know that. Do not try to convince yourself otherwise. It is unhealthy, very muchly so." She sighed but he couldn't tell how she had known.

He tried to read her by her emotions but he might as well have been trying that on himself. She was either dead, which he found highly unlikely, or had no ki. The strange part was he knew if she wasn't in plain view, he wouldn't have known she was around. It started to scare him slightly.

_What is wrong with this girl?_ _I'd notice more a dead person._

He began to believe she was a zombie when his reflexes took into account and he caught a fish flying in his direction, dangerously close to slapping him in the face. He saw her helping the little boy eat, a somewhat humorous scene as he decided chattering incomprehensibly held more interest than his dinner. The little boy squealed and giggled, clapping his hands together cutely.

"Kasoku" she whispered, trying to coax the food into his rapidly moving mouth.

"Ara?"

"His name is Kasoku." she said as if she were talking to no one.

They ate in a silence both found comfortable, the quiet seeming to calm the awkwardness of the present situation. Ochita got up with Kasoku and sat down next to him so she could lean on the tree.

Kasoku shouted "Otou!" and jumped onto Soujiro, curling up in his lap.

Ochita put on an odd face that could only be described as surprise and a blush came to her peachy skin.

"I did not know he could say that." she coughed.

Soujiro smiled, not that he could do much else not really minding the child's assumption. The little boy snuggled closer to him and made a humming sound. Ochita's lips twitched upward for half a second, and she took something that was tucked into her obi, putting it to her lips and playing a small tune, the ruroni observing the small black pipe she now held. She began to play it a strange lullaby, the little boy humming the notes with her. She stopped when Kasoku fell asleep.

"Ayasumi nasai." she whispered.

"Ayasumi." he smiled.

For some reason, with Ochita and Kasoku present, falling asleep had never been easier for the ex-assassin. One thought remained in his mind.

_Her name is so depressing, why does she call herself, Fallen. _

**

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**

Resting

This Man sitting next to me is very odd. Seta-san's head lolls to one side and lands on my shoulder, causing me to stiffen considerably. I should push him away right? I try but feel someone's reprimanding eyes on me. Kasoku is watching me with amusement as if he can see my inner struggle; I knowing the little child was far more intelligent than he let on. We both can see the rings under his eyes, as if he hasn't slept well for the past month, so if I move his head I might awaken him. I don't want to be the cause of any more discomfort. That's all I've been for I don't know how many years.

Seta-san shifts closer to me, causing me stiffen and wonder what on earth he is dreaming about for him to want to get so close to something as ugly not to mention bloodstained as I. then I remember that he is only wearing my gi. I let him inch closer. He still has that smile stretched across his face. Can't he see that the smile means nothing and the fact that its hiding his ki is just useless? I do not read his ki.

I feel nothing of the cold air. I ca not feel anymore. I envy him. He can feel. Seta-san can feel yet he does not know how to show it. I can't feel at all. I've forgotten every emotion and feeling except for Pain and Sorrow. Not even the elements can jump start my feelings.

Then it hit me. I can feel the warmth of his head. Not like the people I bump into, and Kasoku always has felt like a cat to me. No Seta-san can make me feel. I will stay with him. I am no longer a killer and nor is he. Staying awake is what I need to do. I never sleep, I cannot sleep. I daydream and rest. But I feel tired? How can I feel tired? I want to sleep. But will I wake up screaming the one name of the person I want to be with the most? And if I did, what would Seta-san do? Would he deem me insane? It seems that the Shi no Tenshi is dead but what if I wake up and think I am still in the bakafu. I did once and almost went on a killing spree had Kasoku not reminded me of who I now was now. Just the sight of the little boy started my memory. But will this all happen or am I worrying myself? There is only one way to find out ne?

**

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**

Broken compass

Soujiro woke up and inhaled deeply. He hadn't slept like that for a long time. In fact he didn't really think he had ever slept so well in his life. His head was on something silky soft and it smelled like rainwater and peaches. He snuggled closer to it not fully out of his subconscious. Soujiro's stomach grumbled so he licked what he was holding, reveling at the wonderful taste, a few moments from biting when it stiffened. The young man's eyes fluttered open and he realized he was on someone.

"Ohayogosimasu Seta- san" Ochita greeted, watching the ruroni's face turn bright red.

_Oh kami-sama, I just licked a girl I barely know_.

"Gomen nasai I was-" Soujiro spoke quickly to apologize.

"Sorry for what?" Ochita asked day-dreamily, getting up.

She leapt up the tree and retrieved Soujiro's clothes down, landing lightly on her feet. Kasoku woke up shouting again, the child trying to practice his mannerisms but lacking the vocabulary for a simple 'good morning'. Soujiro was about to tell her what he was sorry for, but he was so embarrassed as he realized she was pretending nothing happened to save him the discomfiture.

_How does she know what I'm thinking_

She dumped his cloths on him grabbing Kasoku and turned away. Soujiro got dressed quickly, slipping his slightly damp clothes on with speed.

"Here." Soujiro gave Ochita her gi.

"Domo." she replied, slipping it on and tucking it in.

She then walked behind the tree and plucked her bag from the ground. Kasoku hung on her back as she began to walk away. Soujiro just stared at the strange scene.

"Seta-san you are supposed to walk with me. That is how you travel ne?" she asked.

"Anou…well I'm a wanderer and I have no destination in mind." The ruroni smiled.

"As am I." Ochita gave a small twitch of her lips to show her amusemen,t but not because she felt that way in any way, shape, or form.

"Honto ka? So I may really travel with you?" Soujiro asked.

The short man was under the impression that, because she knew him, she held some type of grudge.

"Aa" she whispered.

"Okay. Which way should we go?" Soujiro who was a fast traveler had seen most of Japan, and wasn't in the mood for seeing sights he'd already witnessed.

"The broken spirit follows the broken compass." Ochita murmured.

"Ara?" Soujiro asked, completely confused with the statement.

Ochita pulled something out of her bag, as Soujiro came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. It was a compass that didn't point north.

"A Compass?" he asked almost skeptically, were he capable of that.

"Aa A broken one, very muchly so." Ochita nodded as she said this.

The tiny looking girl then took off in the direction the compass pointed at a very fast pace, carrying Kasoku on her back.

The blue eyed ruroni had to use 4 steps short of true shuku chi just to keep up with her.

"You're fast." Soujiro smiled.

"I'm jogging." A small twitch came to her lips and she grabbed our Ara-ing ruroni by the hand, taking off faster than the boy could himself.

"The unwanted follow the broken." She whispered at him as she leapt into a tree.

Suddenly, a piercing scream split through the air, the short red head turning directions to head to the source of the cry.

**

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**

Fangs

Author's POV

They sped through the trees at an incredible speed, Ochita listening with a bit of amusement as Soujiro squeaked when branches and twigs hit his face. They had no time to loose, and because of a strange sense of hearing the small girl could bring them to the exact place. They entered a small wooded area, landing lightly, save our blue-eyed ruroni who was promptly dropped on his ass, smiling the entire time though slightly embarrassed.

Men stood about everywhere, all eyeing a girl who had backed up into a tree, her clothes revealing yet lavish.

_A rich whore? Isn't that an oxymoron very muchly so?_

The red head just shook off the thought and turned her close to non-existent attention on the group of men. She felt a strange ki, something that didn't belong with these common thugs, and fixed her eyes on the leader, a man with murky green eyes and, mud brown hair, flashing her his yellow decaying teeth.

"Well look who we have here, two people-"

"Mou!" Kasoku frowned indignantly.

"Three people," The man corrected mockingly before continuing, "Dropping in on our kidnapping. I guess we'll just have to kill you."

In Soujiro's opinion, the man seemed all to happy to unveil his intentions, overly confident with not enough bite to back up such a large bark. And trust him, challenging Tenken no Soujiro was quiet a bark.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid we will not allow you to do so. Please except our humblest apologies." The ruroni bowed, hoping there was a peaceful solution to this problem.

Kasoku stomped over to the woman, plopping down next to her with a childish 'hmph' glaring at the man with an 'I'd like to see you try taking them down' look. The man eyed the little brat and gave him a menacing, condescending sneer, curving his lips up in a cruel smirk.

"I'm not interested in your apologies, so why don't you just make this easy and stick your neck out so I can sever that stupid looking head from your femmy body." He laughed.

Soujiro's eyes flashed, not enjoying the jest at his expense. So he was a little small in frame, why did everyone undermine him for being short?

"The only neck that is going to roll will be yours." He chirped with a cheerful smile on his face, before fixing the man with a smiling glare and shot forward, hardly using any of his speed, taking out the men that had guarded their leader with a few carefully aimed attacks. Hitting them all with the back of his sword, most likely snapping several of their ribs before they fell, crying out in agony.

He stopped for a moment and turned to the side to see Ochita, using the large black curved poll on her back to knock many of them around. Sidestepping all of the attacks with an eased grace, the girl didn't even bother to move herself quickly as she maneuvered her poll up into one man's chin, bringing the opposite side down into one's knee, snapping it out of its socket, whirling around leisurely to cuff one man in the head with the weapon.

Soujiro just kept smiling and continued to fight off the horde of men, there were about twenty to take care of.

_Practice._

The ex-Tenken grinned chillingly, running forward and taking down three men, whacking one in the shoulder with the hilt of his ninhontou, moving the dull edge in an arc down another man's chest, kicking the other with his foot, sending him flying into a tree fifteen feet away. He then went for the leader, assailing him with a medium speed, believing the half rotting man not worthy of his skill.

Unfortunately, the man drew his katana quicker than anticipated and blocked Soujiro's attack, the young man trying to push the older back, only to have the kidnapper catch hold of his throat, squeezing his Adams-apple tightly. The ex-assassin had never felt anything like the sensation of having his throat crushed, faintly aware of the screaming of the whore in the back round.

_Shishio-sama is laughing in his grave._

Soujiro shut his eyes and tried to regain his mind, of which felt the need to float away from him at the present moment. Just then he felt someone put there lean arm and extremely long, spindly fingers around his chest, ripping him away from the man and throwing the small man across the grass, running to join him.

"Gross." He heard the leader comment and fixed his slightly unfocused gaze on the man, observing that he held the oldest, ugliest, rice hat the ruroni had ever seen.

_Anou…isn't that Ochita's?_

And then the girl let out the screech of a bat. Nothing short of the apocalypse could stop her now.

Ochita's POV

My hat…no one touches my hat…that hat is the only possession I have left of the both of _them_. So I let myself go, changed back into what I hated the most, eyes glazing over until all I could see was a haze of mismatched colors, my eyesight suddenly converting to that of the negative of a photo, looking around in the darkness, finally able to see properly.

My lips opened and turned up, flashing my teeth in a deranged smile, as all I could feel on my face as my body was sent into overdrive. My arms and legs tingled and, my neck felt as though a collar and leash had just been removed. I rocked back on my heels and, after that, the whole scene became a blur. In the end, every man was on the ground, groaning in pain, most likely disfigured for life.

"Forest Demon!" I heard the woman behind me shout and I turned around slowly, noting that the smile I'd placed on my face was still etched there, baring my teeth to the world.

Soujiro was on the ground, looking at me strangely…with a smile on his face, albeit strangely, commenting, "You have fangs."

"When I was young, I knocked them out…they have grown in larger than the rest very muchly so." I explained quietly, the haze leaving and my eyesight returning to a normal state of being half blind.

Review Onegai Shimasu! I revised it a bit, the first draft was hard to read very muchly so.


	2. eyes of the Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the RK cast. Please Review.  
  
Eye's of the Angel  
  
Soujiro's POV  
  
I saw next to nothing. She just disappeared and the men started dropping like flies. I suppose it was the way I must have looked to everyone else when I fight. Because I am so fast it doesn't mean everything looks like a blur. I can see where I'm going. The man that had caught me by the throat had blocked her. She let out a vicious war cry that could wake the dead. Them man ended up in a bloodly heap with probably a few broken limbs not a second after.  
  
Ochita was panting there and there was a malicious smile plastered to her sharp face and her teeth were like fangs. Her river-of-blood colored bangs were hiding her eyes and to my surprise the rest was tied up in a knot atop her head.  
  
All of a sudden she stiffened and the woman about us screamed "Forest Demon". After she explained why her teeth were like that I stared at her eyes. I shivered. They were the color of moonstones and they were looking at me...or in me...no past me. I couldn't tell what she was looking at it was like she was in a daze. "Ojo-san perhaps we can take you back to your home." Ochita spoke her voice matching her daydreamy expression.  
  
The woman latched onto me and began to sob. "they took me from my home last night it's a long way away samurai-san." She cried into my chest. I looked at Ochita hoping she'd tell me what I'm supposed to do with a crying woman. I almost thought she didn't see my pleading look when she shrugged. "Oka!" Kasoku shouted at Ochita as he ran forward. He hugged his mother and buried his face into her gray hakama. A muffled "Oka Oka" could be heard.  
  
I sighed "Boku wa Seta Soujiro.". "Atashi wa Yamada Midori". A politians daughter no wonder. Ochita took Midori's hand and lead her away. "Yamada- san, we will accompany you home." She said and let a small twitch come to her lips in reassurance. Kasoku had Ochita's hat on his head and walked straight into a tree giggling.  
  
I watched Ochita walk threw the woods with Midori and I stared at her eyes. I hadn't ever seen someone with such unusual eyes. More then ever she reminded me of that one person in the back of my head that I couldn't find out who it was.  
  
"Oto!" Kasoku shouted and lept at me. I caught him and hugged the little boy. "Oh Soujiro-kun you are married." I didn't miss the disappointed look that passed her face as she looked at her feet. "Iie." I smiled. The woman looked at me surprised. I choked realizing what she thought. My face turn redder then it already was. "he is not really my son. He is her son but he calls me oto because...er..." I sputtered trying to explain which only confused the woman more.  
  
Ochita saved me by speaking up. "He isn't the father.". "Who is?"Midori asked nudging Ochita. "I do not know very muchly so." "NANI?"Midori shouted. Ochita looked at her surprised. "His parents were killed by bandits. I happened to walk by and you can guess the rest." Midori looked saddened. "So he is an orphan.". "Aa. Kasoku is just convinced that Seta- san and I are his parents very muchly so." Ochita explained. Kasoku looked sad as if he knew what she said.  
  
We sped up a bit and walked down a dirt path that led towards Nagoya. We stopped for lunch which was fish. Midori smiled and spoke the whole way. Chattering like a normal woman. Much like Yumi. We arrived in Nagoya later that evening.  
  
Review Onegai!!!!!  
  
Domo Arigato Racheal you're my first review! 


	3. The Yamada Residance

The Yamada residence  
  
I felt his eyes on me. Soujiro must think I am an awful person. I pretend to ignore his staring as I do with the rest of the world. Being taught that if you ignore something it will go away. I guess you are wondering why I got mad at the man that took away my hat. My hat is one of the few things I own from the two people I love the most. One thinks I am dead the other is.  
  
I told Midori and Soujiro to stay in a clearing by an oak tree. Quickly, I ran to the river with Kasoku because he always liked watching me fish. When I catch fish my mind is on two people. Shin-san and Rei-san. I miss them so much. My mind still tells me I could go to see Shin-san because he is still alive and I know were he is.  
  
My hand snaps up with a fish. I sigh and walk over to Kasoku who continues blithering on. We eat and I can feel his eyes on me. I wonder if I should just ask him what he wants but that would be rude. I have made it a point to be polite to those I like. Soujiro doesn't ask questions so I like him.  
  
Yamada-san on the other hand won't shut up. She keeps flaunting herself at Soujiro who is desperately trying to ignore her. I feel like grinning every time his face turns red as she showers him with compliments about his skill of the sword. "You were really strong back there." She smiles at him.  
  
"And fast very muchly so." My lips twitch upwards as I see his face really burn a few shades lighter then my hair. I wonder if we keep complimenting him if all the blood will rush to his face and his head will pop. What? I'm just curious.  
  
We finally get to Nagoya and it is late. Just then a hand clamps down on my shoulder and the opposite one on Soujiro's. "You two are carrying around illegal weaponry. It's been this way for the last ten years." Said a smooth voice. My head snaps up and I look into the face of a tall man with black hair and green eyes. "They're my bodyguards." Midori replies. "Of course they have weapons. They're to protect me."  
  
Wow. She's almost as good at lying as I am. "Yamada-san! We've been looking everywhere for you!" the man gasps. He's a cop. I haven't been in a city in a long time and I feel something close to irritation. I'm not sure; I haven't felt this emotion in a long time so I can't exactly remember it.  
  
Midori relays the story to the man only we are the bodyguards that caught up with the band of thieves. He asks about Kasoku and he was apparently a lost boy that I picked up on the way. The man nods and asks if he should escort her home. She says no. We move on.  
  
We get to a large building that looks like a western mansion. I stare at it with wonder. I had been in other mansions but never a western one really. Midori walks up to the gates and several guards recognize her and let her in immediately. Soujiro and I just scuttle in after her. Kasoku lets out a little "whoa" in amazement at the buildings size and western style. Midori knocks on the cherry wood door and it opens with a funny creek.  
  
"Yamada-sama" a small man bows deeply at the waist and I watch Midori kind of wave him off. He looks at Soujiro, Kasoku, and me a bit suspiciously. I look down. The floors are made of marble and there is a golden chandelier hanging up in the center of the massive hall.  
  
The walls have many odd carvings in them. I look around and see a lot of elaborately decorated furniture. A man comes opposite door at the end of the hallway and he looks at Midori as if he were about to cry. "Midori- chan! I was so afraid when I found you missing and your window open. I had the authorities looking for you." Midori just smiled and bowed "Oto-san this is Seta Soujiro and Ochita. They are the ones that saved me."  
  
Midori relayed the story to her father and me and Soujiro stood there just admiring the place. All of a sudden I was glomped by Midori's father. "REH!"I choked. Soujiro began to snicker until he was given equal treatment and my lips twitched at this. He even picked up Kasoku and swung the little boy around. "DOMO ARIGATOGOSIMASU!!!!" he shouted merrily then went back and hugged Midori. "How can I ever repay you for bringing my little flower back to me? Anything it's yours!" he beamed at us. Midori blushed at his name for her.  
  
"We are well off very muchly so." I said. "You're kidding me! You two are bums." Midori be goggled at us. Then she blushed "Gomen, I-" I cut her off. "Iie, you are right, we are ruroni actually." Kasoku looked slightly indignant for some reason. Well I knew very well he could understand us but still.  
  
Soujiro just stood there smiling until Yamada-san said in his deep voice. "You will stay the night and I'll here nothing against it. In the morning you may leave." "OKA!OTO!"Kasoku yelled happily as if to say 'we're really staying here for the night!!'XD XD XD XD XD  
  
"Ran will take you to your room." The short man that had opened the door came in and smiled at both of us. I blinked. Room? Doesn't he mean Rooms? As in plural? But before I could say anything Ran began to walk away. Soujiro and I caught up with him and avoided eye contact with each other. I didn't want to mention anything because I thought it would be rude.  
  
So I just walked until Ran opened a door. The room was beautiful. Everything was a peach color down to the furniture except the bed. It was a dark red wood color with a pretty purple comforter. He showed us the bathroom and he showed us the closet that already had cloths that would fit inside.  
  
After awhile Ran left us to ourselves saying he would be back with food. Soujiro who seemed to find his feet interesting at the moment spoke up. "I'll sleep on the floor." My head snapped in the direction of his mouth. I realized what an idiot I had been for actually thinking there was something interesting on his waragi when he was just embarrassed. "Iie. I cannot sleep on something like that very muchly so." He looked at me. "Why not." "I have slept outside for the majority of my life. That is to soft to sleep on." I shrugged.  
  
Just then Ran came back with the promised food and scowled at us for not changing into sleeping attire. We watched him live. I sighed and ran my fingers threw my bangs and under my hat shoving it back so the world could see my face. This would be a looooonng night. 


	4. Caricature

Disclaimer:I don't own the RK cast. Please R&R.  
Kenshin~~  
Battousai--  
  
Caricature  
  
At the Kamiya Dojo  
  
"Your cooking sucks even worse then last time busu!!"  
  
"Shut up Yahiko-CHAN!"  
  
"Don't call me CHAN!"  
  
"Why not Yahiko-CHAN!"  
  
"Stop it BUSU!"  
  
"Why you little-" BONK  
  
Yahiko goes flying. "I think I'll go to the Akabeko for some beef stew." Sanosuke mumbled. "Wanna come Kenshin?" "Aa."Kenshin said quickly and got up and left with Sano.  
  
They walked down to the Akabeko, ordered, and ate. "Hey Sano hun?" Tae asked. "Yeah?"  
  
"Would you mind picking up another caricature for me and Tsubame?"  
  
"Sure. Which one do you want?"  
  
"One of Okita Soushi."  
  
So Sano and Kenshin went into the market to the shop were they sell 'Tsunan' Tsukioka's (Sano's friend Katsuhiro) pictures. "Hey what's this?" Sano asked picking up a caricature. Kenshin looked and his eyes widened.  
  
"It's the-"  
  
"Shi no Tenshi (death of the Angel. Or I like to say Angle of Death)" Sano read. Then he blinked. "Oh I remember! The little dude that tried to warn us. Of course he should have known we wouldn't listen to one of the Ishin Shishi. He wanted us to move way out of line of our attack strategie. " Sano frowned.  
  
The picture was of a very young person with a longsword strapped to their back and ringed blades tied to their hip. They were in the Ishin Shishi uniform. The figure had a hat on their head that ubscured there face so it was hard to tell exactly who it was.  
  
Kenshin sighed thinking back to the revolution when he and the Shi no Tenshi knew each other along with the other enigma. They were always at the others side. ~wow. If only I could see them once again but...their both dead~.  
  
"hey Kenshin, you hear me! Yo earth to Kenshin!" Sano was shouting at him  
  
"Oh sorry Sano what did you say?"  
  
"I asked if you knew this guy. You were both part of the Ishin Shishi."  
  
"Aa, I knew him. He was more a killer then I de gozaru. Also the most caring. They don't draw caricatures of him though because he never liked to be seen. In fact he hated it. I bought him that hat as a joke de gozaru." Kenshin laughed remembering the reaction of the Shi no Tenshi.  
  
"Wow. Sounds like you knew the guy very well."  
  
"Aa."  
  
Sano and Kenshin both bought the caricatures for Tae and Tsubame. They both went back to the Dojo. ~I haven't thought about them in a long time. I wish both were still alive. Such people shouldn't die so soon in there lives~.  
  
-Oh come on she ain't dead. Shishou was wrong-.  
  
~A bloody tabi and geta sandle? Sounds like proof to me~.  
  
-Really how about this. She was scared shitless of Shishou, she never wore anything on her feet that I didn't wear before her, and eaten by a wolf? She's ten times faster then one!-.  
  
~Your just giving sessha false hope~.  
  
-Iie. I'm just giving you the truth you already know-.  
  
~Well if she is alive we both don't know were she is~.  
  
-I doubt the same could be said about the way her mind works. She keeps tabs on everyone-.  
  
~Then why wouldn't she come to see me?~  
  
-you left her with Shishou. Think about it-.  
  
~Shishou wouldn't do anything to her. Besides she's a lot faster then he is~.  
  
-She was safer with me. I didn't want to leave her there. If I ever see her again you get your little wanderer ass out of my body-.  
  
~What do you mean? You are not separate from me we are just alter ego's~.  
  
-Yeah whatever. Don't play stupid you know what I mean-.  
  
~ I doubt that even if I did try to subdue you you wouldn't just take over yourself no matter how painful the process~.  
  
-Damn Right!-  
  
~Where do you think she is?~  
  
-if I knew I would check but she doesn't like people so I'm guessing she would try somewhere unpopulated soooo...-.  
  
-~Hokkaido?-~  
  
~no she'd have to wear something on her feet. It snows there.~  
  
-Okay try every forest from here to NAGASAKI!!!!-  
  
~Maa,maa we both don't know so lets just go to sleep~.  
  
-Aa. I'll think of something in the morning because your to much of an Ahou to know.-  
  
and so Kenshin and Battosai went to sleep. 


	5. This isn't the Bakamatsu

This isn't the Bakamatsu  
  
Rei!!! I woke up. I'm in a politians house. I crawl over to the bed. That must be him. I draw my sword and strike.I...can't bring myself to do it. Why? He wakes up and looks at me. "Oka." I hear a small voice. "Ochita" the man says. Soujiro! I'm shaking. I can't stop the tremors coursing threw my body.  
  
I drop my longsword. "Se-Seta-san" I murmer dropping my longsword on the marble floor with a clink. I look at my hands and for a second I see them covered in blood. "Iie! This is not the Bakamatsu!" I shout as I stumble backwards into the corner, holding my head and praying to the Kami that I didn't just loose his trust.  
  
Soujiro's POV~~~~~~~~~  
  
I woke up as soon as I heard a sword being unsheathed. I tried to sit up but I felt cool steel against my throat. Opening my eyes I saw Ochita staring at me only her eyes...they were so different. They were no longer the dazed moonstone eyes that looked upon me the same way they look upon a tree.  
  
They were silver. A molten mercury silver color that made me shiver against my will. Why? Did she always want to kill me? "Oka." Kasoku says. He's right next to me in the bed. "Ochita" I said timidly.  
  
I see her eyes turn back to their normal color. She starts to shake and drops the long sword. "Se-Seta-san" she whimpers. All of a sudden she throws her hands on her head and it reminds me of the way I did when I lost it during the battle with Himura. "Iie!" she shouts. "this is not the Bakamatsu!".  
  
What? What's wrong with her? Stumbling backwards she hits the wall and slids down looking horrified. I get up and run to her and tried to put my hand on her shoulder but she smacked it away. "Stay away." She said terrified. No I wouldn't let her sit there and suffer.  
  
"Iie." I growled. I began to wrestle her. It was almost pathetic. Ochita wiggled and wriggled but she absolutely sucked at wrestling. I believe I made her even more afraid because she kept on looking at me like I was going to eat her alive.  
  
I rolled over, sat up, and held her to my chest. She trembled in my arms and put her face in her hands. "Gomen nasai." She whispered. Kasoku got out of bed and crawled over to Ochita. "Oka?" he asked her. "Aa." She murmered back. The little boy came up and hugged her. We all sat on the floor for a while  
  
I picked her up and moved her to the bed, Kasoku running behind us. I sat on the edge and smiled at her. "Are you okay?" "Aa.". I got off but she caught my hakama leg. "Seta-san your spot is here very muchly so." She said softly and sat up. I pushed her back down and smiled again. "It's okay. I'll sleep where you were." "Iie." She growled grabbed me and threw me next to her. She then tried to roll off the bed. I caught her gi. She held onto my arm. "Seta-san let go." "Iie. Not if you'er going to have bad dreams while you sit on a cold stone floor." "The floor isn't cold." She snapped back.  
  
I stared at her a moment. We both had the same idea. If we didn't let go of each other the other wouldn't make a move towards the ground. Kasoku jumped in between us and giggled. We lay there for a moment and sighed. I tried to stay up but I couldn't. I was so tired and Ochita has a comforting air around her dispite the fact that she tried to kill me two minutes ago.  
  
In the morning I woke up and Ochita was gone. I looked in the corner and she was sitting there with her head in her hands. "How long have you been awake?" I asked her. "An hour or so." She spoke softly. "I told you not to move" I attempted to frown. "And I didn't listen very muchly so." There was a bite in her voice. She must have been in a very bad mood.  
  
Ran came in and looked at me then at Ochita. "Breakfast will be served in an hour." He said curtly. I nodded and he left looking at all three of us strangely. Ochita's lips twitched in amusment or the closest thing she feels to that. "He thinks we are crazy very muchly so." I looked at her. Kasoku grabbed her hat and put it on. He walked toe to heel like Ochita did.  
  
I stifled my laughter. He was imitating her and she just looked down on him as though she didn't mind in the slightest. Ochita got up and so did I. we both wanted to leave before breakfast. We walked downstairs and made our way to the door.  
  
"Leaving so soon?" we both jumped thinking no one else besides Ran was up at this hour.  
  
"Ohayogosimasu Yamada-san" Ochita said in a slightly daydreamy voice.  
  
"Why are you two leaving?" the man asked.  
  
"Well we just wanted to leave before it gets to hot in the day to walk." I cursed myself knowing it was autumn. The man gave me a quizzical look.  
  
"Okayyy." He nodded. "Then take this token of my appritiantion." He smiled and gave us a large sum of money.  
  
"Iie it's okay." I said handing it back to him only to get it shoved into my hands again.  
  
"Do not insult my hospitality or my gratitude." He scowled.  
  
Ha....well if he puts it that way.  
  
"Domo Arigato gosaimasu." Ochita and I say simultaneously. Then we turn and look at each other. A thought passes through my mind. Are all ruroni this polite or is it just me, her and Himura?  
  
"Doitashimashitte." He nods and ushures us towards the door.  
  
We step outside and turn around. "Ja matte ne." Ochita says and I repeat. Kasoku just giggles and waves. She plucks her gray battered old rice hat from Kasoku with her gloves-with-the-fingers-cut-off-of-them hands, and sets it on her head. Ochita pulls out her compass and we are on our way.  
  
Review Onegaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!! I have finals this week -_-; I need to study. I hate studying. School is starting to seem like a fancy word for torture under pressure. I've got geography tomorrow sooyo('that is true' or in my case 'very muchly so'). X_X bio is on Thursday I'm dead. Ja ne 


	6. Waragi

Waragi  
  
Looking down at my compass I sighed. It changed directions again as did I. My mind was in chaos but what confused me the most was why Soujiro was still following me. I thought after what had happened he wouldn't trust me anymore. Maybe he understood? How could he understand?  
  
"Ochita, where are we going?" Soujiro asks me.  
  
"I do not know very muchly so."  
  
He still has his smile on his face as he looks over my shoulder. It doesn't matter, I can still tell that he is mildly irritated with my lack of a destination. But I am a wanderer ne? so I wander. I follow a broken compass for lack of better things to do.  
  
We walk together in a comfortable silence, Kasoku taking a nap on Soujiro's shoulder. I look at my hands with the felt gray gloves and the little mettle bits that serve as guards. Soujiro shifts Kasoku around and asks me "How long have you been traveling?"  
  
"I do not know."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"Do you ask that question to every woman you meet?" I asked just to see his face turn red. I find that trait of his very amusing. He begins to sputter out an excuse or some sort of apology when I answer.  
  
"I do not know the answer to that question either."  
  
"You don't know how old you are?"  
  
"I stopped counting at 11."  
  
"Oka."  
  
"How old are you Seta-san?"  
  
"22."  
  
I nodded and kept walking. This market place was crowded and I almost got ran over by people bigger then me had I not jumped out of the way.  
  
"Why do you not wear sandles?" Soujiro asks.  
  
Truth be told I am afraid of them. When I was little someone told me that sandles will eat a red heads feet. Not that I am any bigger now for I am still short. This fact irritates me. I am so small and I want to be bigger. I pretend not to hear Soujiro's question. Thankfully he lets the subject drop.  
  
We walk around until my head turns around on instinct. I don't know why it does that but I stand there for a moment and then in the direction I am now facing I hear a cry for help. Grabbing Soujiro's hand I catapulted both of us up on top of a roof. We both run to the area of which the cry eminated from.  
  
I see a bunch of thugs using some kid as a punching bag. Both me and Soujiro jump down and Kasoku currently in Soujiro's arms wakes up with a muffled "Otou (sorry I was spelling it wrong before)."  
  
I was angry so instead of announcing my entrance to this scene I just hit all of them with my pole. They were all slumped around the alleyway in various uncomfortable positions accept the main two that were holding the boy. Soujiro stepped forward with his hand on his hilt.  
  
"You should leave now." His smile was dead pan yet menacing at the same time.  
  
They began to run but I slammed them each in the head. I had been furious. No one did that to anyone smaller then them.  
  
"Ochita they were going to leave." Soujiro said repremendingly which was odd considering that he still had a smile stretched across his face.  
  
"They deserved it very muchly so."  
  
"Who are you?" the boy asked.  
  
"Boku wa Seta Soujiro."  
  
"Atashi wa Ochita."  
  
"Mou!"  
  
"And that is Kasoku." Soujiro said pointing at the indignant little boy.  
  
"Yeah well I'm Shitoku Kai."  
  
"Why are you out here by yourself Shitoku-san." I asked.  
  
"I don't gotta tell you." Kai shot back.  
  
Kai had coal black hair and sapphire pink eyes. It didn't make him look in the least bit girlish giving his tough demeanor of a little boy who's going to get his way. He looked about 12 to me but I wouldn't really know. I've learned age isn't something one can determine by eye.  
  
"Why don't you tell us where you live and we will escort you back there." Soujiro suggested.  
  
"I don't need you!" Kai shouted but he looked almost shamed.  
  
He pushed past Soujiro and ran down the alley way out into the main street. Soujiro Ara-ed as he fell over, Kasoku jumping off his back so he wouldn't get squished. I looked at the ground, at my dirty feet, and sighed.  
  
"We will follow him by roof top." I announced.  
  
"Ara? Did you not just hear him? He wants to be left alone." Soujiro said.  
  
"Ever consider that he was lying about not needing us? Seta-san he is obviously in trouble if he dinies it so openly, without accusation even. We will follow him very muchly so." I said.  
  
Soujiro and I lept back up on a roof and jumped from one to the other with relative ease. I followed the boys saddened ki. It wasn't difficult. We jumped off the rooftop and ran into the forest after him. Spotting him at the rivers edge staring down into the clear water searching his reflection for something he couldn't find.  
  
"Where are your parents?" I asked calmly.  
  
"What do you care?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. Maybe this will loosen his tounge. I flipped out a dagger and held it at his neck.  
  
"Care to repeat?" I asked.  
  
"Blaah!" the boy yelped and tried to scramble away. But I caught him by the back of his yukata and held the blade at his throat again. He covered his face with his hands while he spoke.  
  
"I don't have any okay?" he whimpered.  
  
I took the blade away and stared at him.  
  
"Gomen nasai." I apologized in advance before I hit him in the junction between his neck and his shoulder. He slumped backwards and I caught him before he fell into the river.  
  
"What was that for?" Soujiro asked me.  
  
"Buy a shinai." I ordered.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"You heard me very muchly so." I said.  
  
"Why?" Soujiro asked.  
  
"He will not be beaten up any longer." I said.  
  
Thank you Dreamchasereternity for the reviews. Please Review Minna!!!! Onegai!!! Finals SUCK! But there finally over XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD!!!! Yeah!!!!!  
  
Gomen I'm just happy. I thought this chapter would come out better. Crap! Oh well. 


	7. Training

Training  
  
Chou walked down the road to the police station, a report in his hands that had just come from Tokyo. He grumbled about being the messenger boy again and how one day he was going to kick his boss in his skinny ass. He slid the door open and yelled in  
  
"Oi boss got the case you wanted!"  
  
"Then give it to me Ahou." Saitou rolled his eyes as he took a drag of his cigarette.  
  
Chou walked over to his boss and gave him the manila file. Saitou's eyes gleamed as he saw the contents. Noticing the look of bloodlust that passed across his bosses face lead Chou to question what was exactly written in the envelope. So he asked.  
  
"Another assassination."  
  
"Any clue as to the fucker that did it?"  
  
"A dead man."  
  
"That don't make sense."  
  
"It said Kage (pronounced KA-GE). The Kage has been dead for about 12 years now."  
  
"So why do they think it was him?"  
  
"Same style and they left that name on the wall in their victims blood."  
  
"This guy sounds a little crazy."  
  
"The Kage(mean's shadow) wasn't crazy and he left no trace hence the name. that's the first clue that it wasn't really him. But as to it being the same style we are going to have a bit of trouble. The real Kage was also faster then your little smiling friend."  
  
"Shit! Faster then the kid?? Whoa those politicians are in some deep shit!"  
  
"I have a clue as to who it is though. The clues don't exactly add up but........."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"The thought of revenge was probably to appesing to the eye for this particular person."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The Shi no Tenshi." ******************************************************************** Soujiro's POV  
  
Kasoku walked beside me as I made a beeline for the noodle vender. Ochita is crazy if she can go this long without food while having money. I bought some, ate it, helped Kasoku eat it because the little boy couldn't use chopsticks for he had probably eaten fish the majority of his life courtesy of Ochita, and then bought some more and put it in a carry box for Ochita and Kai if he was conscious when I got back.  
  
I then went to a shop that was selling an array of wooden weaponry and bought a shinai. It was a good weapon, light in weight, and sturdy in build. Kasoku took a particular intrest in the object leading me to buy one for the little boy only to have him giggle madly and swing it around.  
  
The kid was so strange. Well he has been living with an enigma and can only say 3 words. I walked forward back to the river where I had left Ochita. She wasn't there.  
  
"Oka!" the little boy giggled and picked up a stone.  
  
"Ara?" What was he doing? Then he ran and picked up another and another. Kasoku ran back and tugged on my dark blue hakama.  
  
"Otou." He beckoned to me.  
  
"Ara?" I asked the little boy.  
  
He just ran off and went on collecting stones leaving me in to follow him. Strangley after a while we met up with Ochita who was with Kai, of whom was cursing colorfully.  
  
"I can't believed you fuckin' kidnapped me!" Kai shouted.  
  
Ochita ignored him and looked at me. Kasoku had a bunch of stones in his hand of which he gave to Ochita. Her lips twitched and she patted the boy on the head then put the stones in her bag. Oh I get it. She left the stones for Kasoku to pick up. How strangely clever. I gave Ochita the shinai who immediately threw it at Kai. It smacked the kid in the head and he fell over.  
  
"Stay and train then defeat your tormentors or go back and get your ass kicked it's up to you." Ochita said daydreamily but oddly swearing didn't seem as odd as it should have coming from her mouth.  
  
Kai looked at his shinai then asked "What kind of training."  
  
"for now we will work up your speed very muchly so." Ochita said still slightly zoned out.  
  
I was curious as to what kind of technice she used for building up speed because she was so fast.  
  
"Seta-san will help very muchly so."  
  
"Mou."  
  
"And so will Kasoku."  
  
"Nani? What do you mean I'm helping?"  
  
"You'll see very muchly so."  
  
"I'd rather be taught by him then an ugly girl like you."  
  
"Really?" Ochita asked and I almost thought I heard amusment in her voice.  
  
"I really can't teach anything very well." I admitted.  
  
"Training commences now very muchly so." Ochita said.  
  
"Fine what do I do?" Kai asked.  
  
"Follow me." Ochita said walking quickly away.  
  
I followed her and Kai did too. He grumbled about following a stupid hag with funny teeth and a weed for a hat. He seemed extremely irritated. He turned to me and stared, sizing me up.  
  
"What's up with you and her anyway? Why are you smiling? Why does she always have that look on her face and why does she talk like that? What is she gonna make me do?"  
  
"I really have no idea what Ochita wants you to do. I am curious myself. I don't know the answers to your other questions." I prayed he didn't remember about asking of my smile. Thankfully he didn't.  
  
We walked towards a roaring river, Ochita wacking her compass against a rock once and then putting it into her gi. She then walked into the river and beckoned us to follow. Kasoku yelped and ran to follow his oka. He had a big grin on his face and walked into the river splashing around. I didn't know if this was a good idea it was pretty cold out.  
  
"Come in."  
  
Kai sighed and walked into the river as did I. This was how I had trained but I didn't see how you could train more like this and become faster then I was. Walking around I watched as Kasoku sped through the water with ease. I had never considered the thought that Ochita had trained the little child as well considering he didn't have a weapon but it did seem to fit that she would make sure he was safe by making him fast enough to get out of tough situations. Kasoku splashed Kai who got mad.  
  
"Why you little brat!" Kai shouted as he tried to run after the little boy. Kasoku moved as if he were on land instead of waist deep in water. Kai was up to his thighs in water and as he tried to strangle the little child he fell into the water as his attempt to lunge failed.  
  
"Your first task is to catch Kasoku." Ochita said. ******************************************************************** Soujiro still had his smile on as he walked towards Ochita. He noted that the fact that she was up to her mid thighs in water didn't hinder her movements in the slightest as where as for Soujiro it at least made him try a little harder and his movements were more forceful. Ochita's fluid movements made him think that she had done something far more intense then walking through water to get her speed.  
  
"You didn't train this way did you?" He called forward to her.  
  
"That is correct very muchly so." She answered.  
  
"Then how did you train."  
  
"Instead of water it was mud."  
  
"Ara? Mud?" Soujiro asked surprised.  
  
Along his journey he had gotten stuck in the mud had yelled for help the whole time because he couldn't move in it and kept slipping and falling deeper into it. Some of the locals finally found him chest deep in mud and had pulled him out.  
  
"Aa." Ochita said snapping Soujiro back to reality.  
  
Soujiro tried to catch up with Ochita's fast pace. He was within arms length of her when Kai pushed him forward in his wild persuit of Kasoku.  
  
"Ararararararararara-mfph!"  
  
Soujiro didn't fall into the river like he had expected but into something almost soft. He opened his eyes and saw black bandages. He realized there was an arm around his shoulders. He couldn't help but inhale the peach and rainwater sent of Ochita. He blushed horribly when he realized where exactly his head had landed. On Ochita's not so flat chest. The bandages gave off an illusion that she was flat but from the feel she definitely was not. Soujiro dug his feet into the bed of the river and Ochita gently pushed him back. She turned around and acted as if the embarrassing, in Soujiro's opinion, event hadn't happened.  
  
Soujiro watched Ochita, her funny toe to heel walk amused him. ~When did I start to ever feel amusment? At least the kind that's for a simple reason and not because I just lopped off a begging politians head?~. Soujiro pondered two of the questions Kai had asked. Why does she always have that look on her face and Why did she speak so strangely? Soujiro had to admit the way she looked at you as if you weren't really there could make you shiver on the warmest of days. Soujiro froze as he realized were he had seen someone stare at him that way. A dead man stared at you like that. Soujiro had looked into the eye's of his victims plenty of times and that is what it resembled. Dead people seemed to look off into the distance, or the world of the dead as did she. Was that her intent?  
  
Soujiro pondered these thoughts as were Ochita's only thought was if this certain river had fish. Ochita could admit that she took on the appearance of a fairly simple person but inside she wasn't simple at all. Her logic was haywire and she felt her life was never supposed to be. She had hated it until Kasoku came along and screwed up her self loathing, mildly suicidal attitude. He needed her.~What is that old saying? Misery enjoys company?~. Ochita watched as Kai fruitlessly attempted to catch Kasoku. Her lips twitched upwards in a feign smile as Kai turned around to glare at her.  
  
"You find this amusing don't you bitch?!"  
  
Ochita just nods.  
  
Kai lunged at her shinai drawn. He tried to hit her but Ochita drew her pole and quickly batted him out of the air and back into the water where he landed with a sploosh. Kai's head popped out of the water panting.  
  
"I actually found that even more amusing very muchly so." ********************************************************************* "I hate you."  
  
"Is that supposed to make me feel hurt?" Ochita asked.  
  
Kai seethed as he dug into his noddles with his chopsticks. He really couldn't stand her. She didn't get mad at him she didn't get annoyed even. All he did was provoke her trying to get the slightest reaction that his words had some effect on her but none of them seemed to.  
  
It was evening and the sun had set. Ochita found a place to camp and Kai and Kasoku as well as Soujiro and herself were wet. Everyone had taken off there gi and hung it up to dry. Ochita had caught fish because she preferred it over noodles which wasn't actually true she just wanted Kasoku and Soujiro to have them.  
  
"So Seta-san why are you a wanderer?" Ochita asked. It was the first conversation she had initiated.  
  
"I am trying to find my truth." Soujiro said, his ever present smile was still plastered to his face.  
  
"Good luck." Kai snorted. Soujiro turned to him and asked "Nani?"  
  
"The truth of the world is easy because there is none. If there was then it would have become wide spread knowledge and even I would know it. But no ones found it so what makes you think you can."  
  
"Where did you come by that strange knowledge?" Ochita asked.  
  
"Some crack pot philosopher came by one day and I listened to him ramble on and on about how he had found the truth. It was a bunch of bull shit about how if you suffer for a greater good you'll feel better about it in the end."  
  
"So what do you think the truth is?" Ochita asked.  
  
"I don't know but that isn't it. You do things for yourself and if it happens to be a group thing that's great. Mom once told me there was some sort of balance in the world and that every thing you do has an effect on it."  
  
"Aa that is true very muchly so." Ochita whispered.  
  
There was something Soujiro still didn't understand. Did the strong still live and the weak still die? The whole wakisashi thing with Shishio proved that to be true but the battle with Himura proved that to be fales. So who was right?  
  
"What about you? What do you think?" Kai asked Kasoku.  
  
"Oka." The little boy looked at his mother.  
  
"That's your answer to everything. I don't see what's so great about her." Kai snorted. "What about you. You know anything at all?"  
  
"Ara? Me?" Soujiro asked.  
  
"Iie. Your Baba-san(grandmother). Who else would I be talking to?"  
  
"Well........." Soujiro hesitated telling them this but decided, why not? "I once believed in the fact that the strong live and the weak die."  
  
"That's a grim outlook." Kai said staring at Soujiro with curiousity. "It's true but still grim."  
  
"Darwens theory." Ochita said softly.  
  
"Ara?"  
  
"That's called Darwen's theory. Survival of the fittest is another way of putting it."  
  
"Do you think its true?" Kai asked.  
  
There was a silence for a while before Ochita answered. "Darwen first discovered it on the Galopagos islands. He was studying turtles when he made his theory." She hesitated for a moment then continued. "I am not a turtle. People aren't animals because we are born with a conciouns. When an animal kills it doesn't feel guilty. It may take a long time for a person to feel guilty about killing but never the less they do. In the end the people that never give up are the people that win."  
  
"So what do you think the truth is." Kai asked casually.  
  
Ochita's lips twitched into a smile then said "It came from France of all places."  
  
Kasoku giggled. "Well what is it?" Kai was impatient.  
  
"They say 'Such is life'. It is true because no matter what you do that is the way your life goes very muchly so."  
  
"Ara?"  
  
"Seta-san when you fall down do you sit there and wonder why you fell?"  
  
"Iie. I get back up."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Soujiro was stumped at that. ~Why do I get back up? Would it make much of a difference if I didn't?~  
  
"Because that's the way life goes. You fall down you get back up. You make a mistake you correct yourself. It doesn't matter how long it takes you but you do it because that's the way life is." Ochita said.  
  
That strangely enough made sense to Soujiro. He could look at his whole 'Bring a reign of chaos about Japan' thing as how he fell. Now all he had to do was get back up and keep on going no matter how much it hurt. The answer would not come for a while but he would be happy with this one until he got it.  
  
Finally Soujiro was getting somewhere.  
  
Done!!!! Review Onegai!!!!! 


	8. Dreams

Dreams  
  
A small girl stood there with a smile that would remind you of a Cheshire cat plastered to her face. She was covered in blood that wasn't hers and she just stood there as it rained. It rained despite the fact that there were no clouds in the night sky. Her hair matched the color of the spilt blood on the ground that pooled beneath her victim and her eyes matched the silvery light of the moon with a darker tint intent on showing nothing but pure malice. The words whispered threw the wind were of the resemblance between two killers. ~she looks so much like me.........~  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
"Revenge tastes sweetest when the victim knows his tormentor." Kayo Namotoru purred as he watched one of his prized assassins walk in after a job in Shizuoka.  
  
It would definitely throw off Mibu's Wolf. But that was the one Namotoru was intent on torturing. "You brother did his job well in Tokyo." He smiled at Ichi. Ichi nodded. His black hair shined in the candlelight and his even blacker eyes made him look a bit like a ghost with the contrast of his pale skin. He took in the knowledge that Tokyo was where his boss had sent his twin Ni. The Twins were lethal as their style was for nothing but assassination. That's what they were made for. They hadn't been given names just 1(ichi) and 2(ni) in order of their birth.  
  
The twins were practically mute. Neither one questioned anything so besides that there was nothing to say. That's what Namotoru liked the best about them. There was no reason to explain his plot against Saitou Hajime. But even so he wanted to share with his assassin why. The why was better then the who anyway.  
  
"Do you know why I'm doing this?"  
  
Ichi just shook his head.  
  
"To avenge my brother from the two people that killed him. Saitou Hajime and My despicable bastard sister."  
  
Ichi just nodded. Even though the question 'why doesn't he just send Ni and I to kill these two?' passed through his head he didn't voice it nor did any questioning look appear on his smooth alabaster face.  
  
"You are dismissed unless you have any questions."  
  
Ichi turned around and left confirming his boss's theory that nothing in the world could be clearer. Namotoru smiled wickedly at this. His blue eyes filled with twisted glee.  
  
"What about Battosai?" said a voice from the shadows.  
  
"What of him? I heard he made a vow never to kill again so what harm could he possibly be?" Namotoru asked.  
  
"He defeated Shishio and Yukoshiro so I would say he does prove harmful." The voice continued.  
  
"The twins could take care of him." Namotoru snorted.  
  
"I don't know. Using the name of the Kage doesn't seem right."  
  
"It is. My onee-san is the only one Saitou spared."  
  
"I still don't know."  
  
"Well I do and all is going well so don't worry yourself."  
  
"Alright ayasumi."  
  
"Ayasumi."  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
"I got him!" Kai shouted as he held Kasoku up.  
  
It had been two weeks sense Soujiro had met Ochita. He learned many things about her. Most of them useless but still interesting. Her favorite color was green. Her favorite food was sushi and udon with seaweed. She had named Kasoku. She wouldn't let anyone touch her hat. And many other things.  
  
"Aa good job." She murmured.  
  
"Well? What do I do know?"  
  
"OK if you don't want a break........."  
  
"Never mind." Kai panted.  
  
Everyone got out of the river and took a rest. Soujiro sat down next to Ochita. He looked at her and tried to read her ki. He tried finding her emotion and her warriors' spirit but it all evaded him somehow. A small twitch came to her lips. He still felt nothing but knew this was the equivalent to her laughing at him.  
  
"Looking for something Seta-san?" She asked.  
  
She knew!!! And she was playing with him. Soujiro got a bit angry at this. He wished she'd just be at ease around him enough to show him a bit what she was thinking. ~then again who could be at ease around a killer ne?~ he thought. Soujiro had always tried to read Ochita's ki, it was in short becoming his hobby. Of course he hadn't thought she'd know he was doing it.  
  
"Yeah he's looking for your face. As ugly as it is the hat is probably worse." Kai snorted.  
  
Ochita took off her hat and examined it. No expression was on her sharp face as she stared at it day dreamily. Soujiro wondered where she had come up with that look. It was very clever for hiding your ki. He tried looking into her eyes to see if it would be easier to read her ki.  
  
Nothing at all. Just in a daze perhaps. Soujiro still continued to stare at her face. He'd probably only get to see her eyes every two weeks. He didn't know why but he wanted to take his Nihontu to the hat. It bugged him.  
  
"Never mind, the hat is better." Kai smirked.  
  
"It may not look like it but I'm actually considering hitting you very muchly so."  
  
"Well I'd be at your mercy. You haven't taught me a damn thing on how to hit someone." Kai shouted.  
  
Ochita got up and walked over to the center of the clearing. She stood there for about 20 seconds before she said "You better get up and come over here if you want to learn. It'll be your only chance today."  
  
"But I thought you said I get a break." Kai sputtered.  
  
"Well you seem so eager to learn. Like I said this is your only chance." Ochita said. Soujiro thought he detected a hint of annoyance in her voice but if it was there it was gone in an instant. Kai grumbled and got up.  
  
"Hold your weapon like so." Ochita said as she demonstrated with her long sword for Kai.  
  
He did. Kasoku got up and joined them squealing something incoherent about his oka. Ochita continued to demonstrate the downward movement, her actions graceful and streamline. Kai's imitations were a bit choppy but he was getting the hang of it. Everything went well until Kai tried to hit Ochita. She spun around and kicked him out of the air. He toppled over and landed not far from Soujiro. Ochita walked to him and looming over him said, "Do that 500 times everyday for about a month and then maybe you can hit Seta- san while he's sleeping. Until then don't try anything on either of us unless you want to scuff yourself up very muchly so."  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
It was late at night when they finally came to a stop in another clearing. They ate fish for dinner like always. It irritated Kai to no end. He said that he'd turn into a fish soon based on the fact that you are what you eat.  
  
After Kasoku and Kai went to bed Ochita turned to Soujiro.  
  
"Seta-san may I ask a favor?"  
  
"Anything."  
  
"Teach me how to smile."  
  
"Nani? What do you mean? You can't smile?"  
  
"I've forgotten how very muchly so."  
  
This was an interesting bit of information for Soujiro. He had always thought she had just restrained from smiling. He wondered what it would be like if he could forget to smile. Strange, it seemed he had always smiled but it was so dead he didn't know why she was asking him how.  
  
"Like the kind of smile you wear when Kasoku calls you otou. I want to be able to do that." Ochita said and there was a bit of a plead in it.  
  
"Umm...........I'll try" Soujiro said with the ever present smile on his face.  
  
"Try smiling yourself. Attempt at it at least." Soujiro continued.  
  
Ochita gave him a Cheshire cat smile. Soujiro felt his skin crawl and he shut his eyes tying to block the image out of his mind. That had to be one of the most creepy smiles he had ever seen.  
  
"Iie. Stop not like that.........like this." Soujiro tried to give a cheerful smile.  
  
"I can't see you Seta-san you'll have to step away from the fire."  
  
"ARA?  
  
"I am diurnally blind."  
  
"oh."  
  
This was interesting. So she couldn't see him. Then how did she...maybe she had the eye of the heart. Soujiro moved into a shadow and gave Ochita a happy smile. She tried but it didn't really work. With the hat on it was hard to tell what the rest of her face was doing.  
  
"Maybe I should try later." Ochita said after Soujiro tried to stifle a yawn.  
  
"Hai. Ayasumi."  
  
"Ayasumi."  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Chou growled. He was playing messenger boy again. While his boss was down in Shizuoka. He was down in Tokyo going to see him. Yes he was going to see the man that had wiped the ground outside a shrine with him a year ago. Battosai.  
  
"Ahh ha ha ha ha ha." Chou heard a little girl squeal.  
  
"Suzume are you alright?" He heard a familiar voice ask.  
  
"Uncle Kenny in the water." Another girl said.  
  
Chou rounded the corner just to see a little girl push the Battosai into a bucket of soap suds and laundry.  
  
"Ororororororororo." Splash.  
  
"Uncle Kenny's all wet."  
  
"All wet. All wet."  
  
"Well I certainly am now de gozaru." Kenshin laughed.  
  
Chou couldn't believe he had gotten beaten by this pansy. The legendary Battosai his ass. He was a purpled eyed pretty boy.  
  
"If you're here to cause trouble I suggest you leave." A voice Chou wished he'd never have the displeasure of hearing again said.  
  
"Ohayo Tori atama." Chou smirked as he turned around to see the man going to strangle him but dodged.  
  
"Shut up broom head. Why are you here?" Sano interrogated.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to see anyone strange around here. 'sides you of course." Chou grinned  
  
"Hai. You."  
  
"Why you-"  
  
"Sano. Oh Konban wa Chou-san." A sopping Kenshin smiled. Then sweat dropped when he saw the two hadn't noticed him and were still yelling at each other.  
  
"ORO!" Kenshin shouted as a punch meant for Chou hit him.  
  
"Gomen Kenshin!" Sano apologized.  
  
Kenshin got up rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"I said Konban wa Chou-san de gozaru." Kenshin sighed.  
  
"Yeah hi. Now I came down here to ask ya if you've seen anyone that fits this description." Chou handed Kenshin a piece of paper.  
  
On it, it had a simple description: Hair like blood, eye's like the moon.  
  
"Know anyone like that?" Chou asked.  
  
Kenshin nodded. He was far past surprised.  
  
"See 'em around here?"  
  
Kenshin was speechless so he just shook his head no.  
  
"Do ya know were someone like that'd hang out?"  
  
"I'd say in the under world."  
  
"I wasn't asking you Tori atama."  
  
"Shut up broom head I was just trying to help."  
  
"I don't know." Kenshin whispered.  
  
But he wish he knew.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Thankies to all those who have Reviewed. Keep Reviewing onegai!!!!!!!! Anyone Review! (Chibi Ochita jumping up and down waving her arms.) Pretty please!!!  
  
SamuraiGirl: I am aware of this and to give an estimate Ochita goes about 370 miles per sec. I know it's nutts. Oh well (chibi Ochita shrugs and pulls her hat over her face.) Maybe one can outrun there shadow. 


	9. Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror  
  
Battosai: said to have hair like fire and eyes like the sun  
  
Shi no Tenshi: Said to have hair like blood and eyes like the moon  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Ochita and I walked into the town with Kai and Kasoku. It was like any other town that we had walked though. All of a sudden Ochita stopped and she took off her hat letting it hang from her neck and rest on her back by that black staff she carries.  
  
A strange look appered on her face unlike the day dreamy one she usually wore. Her shoulders tenced and she spun around as if looking for a fight. Then I saw her walk over to a newspaper stand and get a news paper. She then rifled through it looking for something until she found it.  
  
"It's been 11 years sense the Bakamatsu?" She whispered.  
  
I just nodded. Ochita almost seemed surprised as she looked at the contents of the newspaper. Her facial expression never changed. She then quickly put the paper in her gi.  
  
"Lets go." Ochita said softly.  
  
"But we just got here you stupid Koumori!!!" Kai shouted  
  
"What did you call me?" Ochita's voice was dangerously icy.  
  
"That's right! You look like a Koumori (bat)" Kai laughed.  
  
"Call me that again and you'll look worse then I do very muchly so." Ochita said and I saw her glare.  
  
Well Ochita had been making progress on how to show her emotions but she still couldn't smile. Her glare faded. Then she turned to me and asked.  
  
"Do I really look like a Koumori?" she asked blowing up her bangs from her nose so I could see her face properly.  
  
I didn't know what to say. Now that he mentioned it yeah she resembled a bat but...a really cute bat with a pretty face and-what am I talking about? I could lie and say no but she'd know I was lieing. I can't win.  
  
Two police men came over saving me. I knew what they were going to say. 'swords have been outlawed'.  
  
"Run." Ochita whispered.  
  
"Ara?" I asked.  
  
Both the cops stepped forward and a small smile played on each of there lips simultaniously. :A/N (chibi Ochita jumping around and doing cartwheels while her hat stays magically pasted to her head) I Know Who They AAAARRREEE!!!!: Then they drew their swords which weren't police man sabers. I didn't need to be told twice. These guys weren't cops.  
  
"Seta-san Run!!" Ochita shouted.  
  
"Huh?" Kai asked.  
  
To late Ochita picked him and Kasoku up and ran with me. We ran through streets and by stands. Then into a forest at the other end of the town. I turned around to see if our adversaries were following us. They were just in view so I ran beside Ochita and asked, "What's going on?"  
  
"Seta-san they want us dead so I will meet with you later. We will split up very muchly so. It will make things harder for them if they don't have the advantage of being together. Do not be afraid I will find you before tomorrow." Ochita said softly.  
  
"But-"I didn't want her to leave me.  
  
"Iie you will." She said then shot off into the trees.  
  
I saw one of the men shoot off into the trees after her and the boys in her arms. I kept on running the man behind me. I started to use full shukuchi but the man, even though trailing behind me was still following percistantly.  
  
Only way to get rid of him was to stop and fight so I turned around. The man caught up but didn't seem the least perplexed at my smile. In fact he was smiling himself. Only it was soft and gentle and almost seemed nice?? But I knew even though this man was giving off a massive amount of 'inocent sweet all I want to do is help the world' ki I wasn't going to be fooled.  
  
"What do you want form me?" I asked with my usual cheerful tone.  
  
"Your life." Was the quiet reply I got.  
  
I got into a batojitsu stance.  
  
Funny...he did the same. I lowered myself getting ready to do my trade mark attack but...he did the same. What was he doing? I didn't think twice about It and just struck out at him.  
  
CLANG!!!!  
  
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who shall be defeated after all?" The man said quietly with a hint of playfulness in his tone.  
  
I backed up. I didn't know what he was doing but I didn't like it. Then I understood. His little comment...the stance he took...everything in time with me.  
  
He was mirroring me.  
  
Everything I did he did. Even the pace of our breathing was the same.  
  
"Who are you?" I asked hoping I showed nothing in my voice.  
  
"Ni." He smiled softly. It was almost the smile an adult would give to a child who was being silly. I really didn't like this.  
  
So I began to fight him.  
  
CLANG!!!  
  
CLANG!!!  
  
CLANG!!!  
  
This wasn't working. The only way to get him to stop mirroring me was if I did something he didn't expect. Which ultimately meant something stupid. So I did.  
  
I tried to impale him. He mirrored that too! Only he hit and I didn't. I fell to the ground in a pile of crumpled limbs. Then I stared up at him as he came closer and closer.  
  
"Your not really a threat so I won't kill you. As for being the legendary Tenken we aren't really living up to that name are we? If your speed is all you've got with you now, I hope next time we meet you'll bring your technique. Perhaps it got sucked into a mirror too." He chided softly.  
  
Then he left.  
  
I got to my feet shakily but slowly. He was right. I had become really rusty sense I was the Tenken. I walked away.  
  
I couldn't find Ochita because I couldn't find her ki. I never could. She might have tried to change her facial expressions but her eyes always seemed dead. When I found a river I peeled off my now bloodstained gi and western shirt, then my hakama, Tabi, and waragi. I then layed myself down in the river and let it wash my wound. I got out after what seemed like an hour and I washed my cloths. It was freezing out and I shivered as the wind whipped and bit at my skin. But still even despite the cold I put on my soaking cloths, then sat underneath a tree and thought.  
  
I didn't eat, just thought. I wondered mostly about Ochita...well...more like worried. My mind just spun around idily and I couldn't think straight. I began to think back earlier to this week.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
"It's too cold to go in the water so you will carry Kasoku and track me very muchly so." Ochita said with her dazed tone.  
  
"Fine!" Kai said as if he detested the child as well as his mother.  
  
(Ochita shoots off in a random direction and Soujiro is there to help kai.)  
  
"Stupid girl. What do you see in her?"  
  
"Ara? What do you mean?"  
  
"Well your always with her. Is it a love thing?"  
  
"Ara? Nani?"  
  
"Oh forget it, smiley boy. Getting any useful information on that baka onna from you is like squeezing water from a rock." Kai growled and stormed of in the direction he had seen Ochita go off in.  
  
***End of Flashback***  
  
I just sat there thinking. Why do I follow her around? What is it about her that I find so special? Why do I not feel alone when I'm close to her?  
  
I stopped thinking. It was getting late so I got up and sought out to make camp somewhere. When I finally did find a good spot I sat down and leaned against a tree. Then after a while I fell asleep.  
  
***Dream/memory***  
  
why?  
  
What did I ever do to them?  
  
Somebody help me! Their following me. I've got to hide.  
  
THERE! Under the eniguwa. I'll hide there. It's barely light enough to see. Their coming. Their going to kill me this time for sure. What do I do? I don't want to use the sword. But their going to kill me. Someones down here with me. Coming closer. I can see their eyes. I draw the sword and the metal gleems in what little light there is. I slash and instently smell the blood. I flick the droplets of the red substance off of the wakizashi.  
  
I crawl out and continue to kill. I will survive. I'll be strong. The strong survive the weak die.  
  
It's raining. It smells of blood. And I'm smiling. But... But...  
  
I'm really...  
  
Crying...  
  
****Waking****  
  
Author's POV  
  
Soujiro woke up and started beating his head against the ground. It was raining just like that night and now he was crying. But suddenly his head fell on something soft. He tried to pick his head off of it and wack himself against anything hard. Tried to beat the memory out of his mind. But warm arms stopped him and held him close. He inhaled the soft thing and it smelled of rain water and peaches. He looked up and saw it was Ochita looking down at him without an expression on her face. Then her lips twitched in that small smile like motion and they stayed that way.  
  
"It's okay Seta-san. I am with you now so everything is okay." She said softly. But Soujiro saw it. A small tear fell down her cheek and onto his face. He felt her ki. Her warriors spirit was there all around him and it was doing one thing that amazed him.  
  
Ochita's warriors spirit was sad and it was creating the rain. 


	10. The Angel's Blades

The Angel's blades  
  
Kai's POV  
  
Koumori-san just flies off into the trees with me on her back and Kasoku in her arms. I turn around and see the cop guy running after us.  
  
"Fight him you stupid koumori unless your afraid to lose." I sneered.  
  
"I don't want to kill him very muchly so."  
  
I blinked. Did she just say she didn't want to kill him? Well going at this speed if she ran into him she'd kill him but still would she kill him?  
  
"Well it doesn't look like he's letting up." I commented.  
  
"You will stay back when I fight." She commanded. Then the stupid bat lands and turns around and waits. The man that was chasing us leaps out of the trees. He takes his off his hat for a second revealing black eyes and even blacker hair. He straitened and picked the leaves out of his hair with a distasteful look on his face. He had pale pale skin that made him look like a ghost. Bat girl just stands there with that stupid expression on her face as the man takes up a stance meant for battle.  
  
"Are you going to fight or just stand there Ochita?" the man's voice was soft and gentle. Like the first time I saw smiley boy, I couldn't believe this guy was a swords man. Why is it that the swords men look like women and the swords women look like men? Oh well. Koumori just stands there. Then in that stupid voice that sounds like she's off in another world she speaks.  
  
"I give you the first move." Her soft voice said.  
  
The man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Namotoru said you were to polite for your own good." Then he took out a dagger and through it at her with such speed I couldn't see it. Ochita just dodges no expression present on her face. Too late. While Ochita was looking the other way at the dagger whizzing past her face the man came up and slashed at her but she disappeared. I blinked. Where did she go? The man stood there and then he swung his blade. Ochita appeared out of the blue narrowly missing getting her head hacked of her skinny little neck.  
  
Really had I known what exactly she was doing I would tell you but the truth is I didn't. She would just blink in and out of my view usually with a clang sound that I knew was the impact of both the swords. "Oka..." The kid whimpers. He then clings to me like I'm some sort of life line. I really wanted to push him off but I was scared too. The way they fought, even though there wasn't any blood (yet) was scaring me. I finally understood why the kid thought his oka was so great though.  
  
CLANG!! This time the two stayed still long enough for me to see them. Not that I couldn't see the guy but it was weird the way he would hit at nothing and Ochita would just magically appear. The man had a small smile on his face, something that I'd look at Kasoku with if the kid ever did anything right. The guy was acting like he was so superior to Ochita and it made me want to rip his stupid ghosty faced head off.  
  
Just then Ochita and the guy were thrown back by the force each of them exerted. I watched in disbelief as Koumori girl sheathed her sword. Then she picked up those weird round hoops that were always tied to her waist and got into a fighting stance that just looked weird.  
  
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who will be the first to fall?" The man laughed at Ochita. He continued, "Poor, poor Fallen Angel. One brother dead and another gone. The last wants her killed by me, his pawn."  
  
I was starting to hate this guy and the way he spoke in rhymes. I was about to shout out that being someone's pawn was nothing to be proud of when Ochita cut me off.  
  
"Your shadow is your only true reflection."  
  
The guy blinked then quickly put on his gentle smile. He said in a voice that wasn't so sing-song, "Hai. And yours is dead!" With that he charged at Ochita quickly. Ochita jumped and crossed him quickly her once crossed arms were now wide open as she stood there. She turned around as I saw her lips twitch in that weird smile thing she does. I looked to see the man drop his sword against a rock were the well crafted katana split cleanly in two.  
  
"I'll admit that was a clever stunt to pull. Sayonara Fallen one." The man said then he stepped on the rock and shot off in another direction, with the words, "Remember your brother..." lingering in the air. At those words I saw Ochita physically stiffen. I mean her back went ridged and her hands that were hanging loosely at her side with the tips of her fingers barely wrapped around the blade, balled into fists. I felt something weird. It almost blew me backwards but I didn't fall even though the kid fell flat on his back.  
  
It started to rain. I looked up and blinked. What the heck?! There are no clouds in the sky.  
  
Sounding like a baka I stuttered, "H-How?" then I turned back to my psychopathic mentor and I swear I saw something fall from beneath her hat. It was glittering and it looked shinier than any other drop of rain that was falling from the sky.  
  
"It's an optical illusion." She said softly. Then said, "Come, we have to find Seta-san."  
  
She walked off leaving me to blither behind her. It continued to rain and I had a strong feeling that things were getting pretty unnatural around here. I saw her walk then take a sharp right then walk strait again. It was like she knew exactly where we were going. I didn't know. I just walked behind her then finally got the guts to ask, "Who was that guy?". She didn't answer me at first, just kept walking like she hadn't heard me but I knew the wheels in her brain were ticking right and she was just taking her time to answer because she didn't want to say something stupid that would tip me off to anything not being okay.  
  
"An...Acquaintance." She said.  
  
Acquaintance?! Is that what she calls all her enemies or just that one in particular? And how many brothers does she have? Or was that guy just speaking figuratively? What did she take me for an idiot? Did I have to beat it out of her with a stick?! Never mind. I'd have to beat it out of her with an iron poll. Or maybe one of those mace things I saw in a western book about the med-evil times or something. Did I ever tell you I have an over active imagination?  
  
Suddenly she stops and I bump into her. I look at the Koumori (no matter how much it pains me to do so) and then I look at what she is looking at. Nothing. Just air because there was no more path for us. Just a jagged cliff. I turned around and said, "let's go Koumori there's no road there."  
  
She seemed to be thinking something really hard because I don't think she heard me. "Come here." She said softly and I saw her hand tighten on one of those ringed blades. Gulp!  
  
"Why?" I asked timidly.  
  
"Just do it!" Okay that wasn't normal Ochita's voice that was someone else. Someone, might I add, who was royally pissed. But I knew if I didn't I would just prolong the inevitable so I walked towards her. She put one blade away and snatched me, dragging me closer. Then she turned around and said, "Get on my back." I did because I didn't want my head bitten off again and she seemed really scary at the moment so I didn't want to piss her off anymore then I had. It was still raining. She grabbed the little boy who looked up at her questionably and asked, "Oka?"  
  
"Aa?" She asked back in a tone that was Ochita. The little boy giggled and got in her snuggled into her arms and chest immediately falling asleep.  
  
"Hold on very tightly."  
  
"Psh. As if I wouldn't with you going over a zillion miles per minute."  
  
"Just more than usual okay. If you don't you won't be here to see the results very muchly so." And with that said...  
  
She dove off the cliff.  
  
SHE DOVE OFF THE CLIFF!!!  
  
I won't lie I screamed really loud. The only people that didn't here me were the deaf because I was sure with my scream the dead had just popped up out of their graves plugging their ears. All I could think was that she wanted to take us to hell with her. That was until she did a summersault halfway down the cliff face and threw one of those weird blade rings. It had a string attached to it and went flying to the top of the cliff. We were almost hitting the ground when the string pulled taunt and we were literally only 3 feet off the ground.  
  
"You ever pull crap like that again and I'll..." I trailed off. What could I do?  
  
Her lips twitched in a smile and she said, "I thought so." Then she sighed.  
  
I could still she was tense and now I understood what that was about. Pulling crazy stunts like that must be the equivalent to fun for this psychopath. She was making herself feel better. It would be an understatement to say I wanted to strangle her. Ochita began to walk as if she knew exactly where we were going. I contemplated turning around and running for the hills, never having to see her ugly batty face again but where would I go? So I just followed like an idiot.  
  
It soon became dark and Ochita showed no signs of stopping. Suddenly she stopped then said, "Stay here." She said. "What? In this freaky rain? No way!" What? She actually expected us to stay here while she left and went in search of Kami-sama knows what. Then in a bone chilling voice that sounded slightly like a sword being unsheathed she said, "Do not test my patients. It is running low today." I just stood there and blinked. Oookkkaaayyy. As if on instinct I picked up the kid and ran. Fast. I ran until I got to a tree and I ran up it. When I turned around she was gone. Would she ever come back? She better not if she's in that mood.  
  
"Oka?" the kid asked.  
  
"Iie. At least I don't think that was her."  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Ochita's POV  
  
I could feel him near. Do not ask me why when his ki evades me so. It is like my mind and his have been set on the same path. I shuddered at the thought. Me and Shin-san used to do that when we became bored. Just play mind games because we knew no one would win. We new what each other thought, simple as that.  
  
I saw him curled there and something flashed in my mind. Why this thought assaulted me I do not know. In my minds eye I saw myself in the same position only I was bleeding so much I had fainted. I remembered curling up that way in a daze. I remembered the five people who had caused my blood and I remembered the man that had stopped it. I felt everything but at the same time didn't as if I couldn't.  
  
He woke and began to beat his head against the ground. Shin-san used to do that and for a second I thought I saw him there beating his head into the floor trying to get the image of the person he wanted to see most out of his mind. Seta-san's head was getting dangerously close to a sharp rock. I remembered what I used to do for Shin-san. I 'got in the way' as he used to put it. He beat his head against me once more but stopped when I put my arms around him.  
  
I hugged him for a moment. To tell you what I truly think about hugging, one word sums it up pretty good.  
  
Smothering.  
  
I do not like to hug people and I do not like them hugging me. There are only two people I let hug me and of whom I would hug and that would be Rei- san and Shin-san. I guess now there is three. He looked up at me wide eyed and almost scared looking so I attempted a smile, which didn't really work. Instead of wrenching away looking disgusted as I thought he would, Seta-san buried his face into my gi and cried. He didn't sob or anything he just cried. Like Shin-san. I didn't notice a few tears trailed down my cheeks.  
  
I didn't know what to do. I became confused and just sat there feeling useless and in my mind I remember what being useless did to you. You were to always do things right because that way nothing could get in your way. But now I didn't know what was right and what wasn't. Stay or go. Which is it? What did Seta-san really want me to do?  
  
:Stay Ochita. He wants you to stay just as I would want the same.:  
  
My tears stopped. Rie-san's voice jumped around inside my head always telling me what to do. The voice hadn't spoken to me in a while because when it spoke it caused sorrow and if the voice really was my halfbrother's he wouldn't want to cause me pain even though I thought that he should. For all the things that have happened he has the right and privilege to cause me a great deal of pain and suffering but apparently that is neither his wish nor his intent.  
  
"I will stay very muchly so." I whispered.  
  
I looked down and to my surprise but happiness Seta-san had fallen asleep. Just like the first time we met ne?  
  
Why did this happen. What happened to him so much that his dreams are plagued with bad memories? How can I help him? Do I want to help him.  
  
:YES:  
  
"Yes I do very muchly so." I whispered.  
  
  
  
Authors POV  
  
"Did you get what we need Ichi? (Ni)  
  
"I wouldn't have come back with out it Ni." (Ichi)  
  
Ichi held a small obsidian arrow head in his hand, the one that usually hung from the Shi no Tenshi's neck.  
  
"What happened to you there?" (Ichi)  
  
"Nothing is wrong do not despair. The Tenken mearly got a lucky shot." (Ni)  
  
"Truly Ni he did not. Your whole side is bleeding this is not right." (Ichi)  
  
"We must keep up this game to get what's in sight." (Ni)  
  
"San (three)." (Ichi) (Ni)  
  
  
  
Domo! Please Review. If you are wondering what that meant yes Soujiro actually got Ni with the sword but Ni acted as if nothing happened and left to quickly for the bleeding to actually show. 


	11. Shadow Running

Disclaimer: Don't own it k? The villains of this story I own and them...i don't know the gramarical term for Kai Ochita or Kasoku sooooo ya (Chibi Ochita looks around at the non-existent audience and with a shrug walks off stage).

Shadow Running

"Body count?"

"three, he was really drunk." The little girl said day dreamily.

"How drunk?"

"I'm not sure, but he kissed me on the cheek and called me oba-chan." The girl droned.

The man across the room sighed and stared at her with cold, unfeeling eyes. The killer looked around the room in an uncaring and detached way, his eyes searching the dark corners. Even though most people thought the young man that sat before her, a cold and emotionless slaughterer, the little girl knew that this wasn't the case. The man's eyes came back to rest on her and he gritted out from clenched teeth, "You're too young to be here. Go home."

"If you have forgotten your own age perhaps I should remind you. She's over half yours." A tall man said as he came out of the shadows.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that. And she wasn't over half my age two years ago." The younger said.

"I really wish you wouldn't tell her what to do. As if you have the right!" The tall man shouted his yellow, lime green eyes flashing menacingly. His unruly hair swirled about is head haphazardly, as dark as the shadows themselves, contrasting against his smooth porcelain skin. His hand twitched, fingers moving back and forth, the man being teased because he could never quite sit still which made most wonder how he could melt into the shadows so easily. He strode forward with the grace of a shadow as if that was what he had become. His movements seemed to make one wonder if somewhere he stood stationary and that the vision that one saw before them was merely a shadow being cast by some unknown source of light.

"Then you tell her to go home! Her place isn't in war and it's defiantly not next to me or you and least of all helping a plastered Tsuyako to his futon because he can barely stand up straight!"

"Please don't fight, it hurts my ears." The little girl said softly.

"And the screams of dieing politicians doesn't?!" The younger of the two men yelled at her.

The girl hung her head causing her black red bangs to fall in front of her moonlight eyes. She spoke as quietly as possible hoping the two would stop fighting to listen. She rarely spoke when she wasn't asked always seeming as though she had been stuck in a trance at an early age of which she could not break free from.

"I enjoy the sound as much as you do." She whispered quietly which in her ears resonated as a hellish scream.

Both the two listened and realized the little one was right. Not one of them enjoyed what they were doing. The younger still didn't want the girl to be here and continued to fight. He felt it wasn't right to taint something so young and innocent and was willing to let the girl hate him if that were the cost for the freedom of her soul.

"You're not here for your own reason. You're here because Rei-san is here." The younger snarled. "Demon child." He muttered.

Rei-san's skull connected with the younger man's with a sickening crack. The young mans limp form fell back from a sitting position but before he lost conciousness completely Rei looked down at him and said, "If she's a demon what does that make you? We all have out faults but it shouldn't affect our judgment. I put Tsuyako out for two days because he couldn't hold his tongue and I hit you just as hard but chances are it won't faze you that much because your skull is too damn thick!"

* * *

Kenshin's eyes widened, he sat up in his futon and rubbed his head. The feeling in his stomach wouldn't allow for sleep. The sleepy ruroni stood up and slid the door open. The wind of the midnight air whipped around his face sending his fire read hair into his eyes. He brushed it away just to have it return to bothering him, contorting his vision, making it difficult to see what was in the distance. His breath caught in his throat as he felt something far off. It was strong and familiar. 

_-Sessha hopes that ki isn't an angry one or sessha could be in for some trouble.-_

_Scratch that. We could be in for some trouble. (Battosai_.)

* * *

"So you say you saw the Shi no Tenshi and Tenken no Soujiro?" Saitou asked the man sitting across from him. The man shifted uncomfortably because no one was ever at ease in the presence of the Wolf of Mibu even if they weren't aware that they were in it. 

"I don't know for sure but I know that there were two, almost child-like, people carrying swords." The police man from Nagoya stuttered out.

"You said one had very dark red hair and the other had sky blue eyes and constantly wore a smile."

"Hai."

"What color were the smiling boy's clothes?"

"Blue."

"What kind of weapon did he have?"

"A nihotu I think."

"And the other."

"A big, slightly curvedâ€poleâ€a sword longer then the usual but not quite a long swordâ€and two big rings that I assumed were weapons."

"Thank you for your time, you may go." Saitou dismissed the man.

The policeman walked out the door quietly but turned around to Saitou quickly.

"Oi, Fujita-san." He called quickly.

"Aa."

"There was a kid, really young, around two or three."

Saitou just nodded then gave a fake smile and said, "Thank you."

The man left out the door, sliding it shut, the grating noise bearing on Saitou's nerves. He reached into his pocket, searching around for a cigarette. He found the box and fished one out, lighting it, and put it in his mouth. He pulled out a file with an irritated sigh and looked at it. It was the Tenken's and contained miles of pages with descriptions of various assassinations as well as basic murders. Shutting his eyes and inhaling some smoke, Saitou chuckled and said, "Hiding in the shadows isn't exactly polite."

"Of course not Saitou-san."

Saitou tensed at the mention of his real surname, calloused hand immediately flying to the hilt of his sword, clutching the frayed wrappings on the handle. He searched out for the ki of this potential opponent but found it to be low and lacking. Even so, Saitou knew not to underestimate this man, who ever he was, so keeping his hand on the sword he asked, "What are you here for?"

Somewhere in the depths of Saitou's mind he remembered that voice. He couldn't recall the smooth gentle boyish tone but it sounded so familiar that he knew he had heard it before. Putting the cigarette to his lips he inhaled deeply then exhaled threw his nose letting the smoke swirl about in front of his face while waiting for the man to explain his cause for coming to the former Shinsengumi captain.

"Tenken no Soujiro killed my father, sense your looking into his case once again I would be pleased if you would let me assist you."

Saitou smiled. Of course he had heard that voice before. It was that stupid brat. He leaned back in his chair and let out a small chuckle.

"Okubo Setsuna, what actually makes you think that you could possibly take down the legendary Tenken? What are you going to do to him? Talk him into a corner?" The Wolf of Mibu asked the little politician.

"I'm looking for revenge and I've found a way to follow it through. I'm merely asking you to let me be apart of the capture of Tenken no Soujiro. I will bring that man to justice!" Setsuna scowled walking out of the shadows. His calm dark brown hair framed his face nicely and his darker brown eyes glittered with irritation.

Saitou let out a bark of laughter.

"Your idea of justice would, of course, be putting the boy to death. The government, as you well know, has other plans for him."

"He deserves to die! If you won't do anything about that then I will!" The boy's ki flared and Saitou almost jumped. The kid could hide his ki better than most. Not only that but it surprised Saitou just how much kenki the young man possessed.

"Be my guest, but don't be surprised when I arrest you." Saitou snapped.

He heard the unsheathing of a sword and almost got out of his chair when it stopped short and slid back into the sheath.

"A wise decision Setsuna-chan." Saitou sneered, "It would be a shame to arrest a politician's son for the assault of a police officer."

Setsuna laughed, "You don't even live up to your own moral, neh? Aku Soku Zan? If the Tenken isn't evil I don't know who is!"

Saitou was out of his chair in mere seconds having drawn his sword planning to gatotsu the stupid brat to the wall. He thrust forward but the boy was quick, drawing his sword and knocked Saitou's sword off track so that it hit the wall instead of him. Before anything else could happen a knock sounded at the door. The boy grinned and sheathed his sword, patiently waiting for Saitou to answer.

"I'm busy! What is it?" Saitou snarled.

Chou's voice, slightly muffled by the door, could be heard on the other side. He sounded a bit anxious.

"There have been two assassinations, one in Osaka and the other in Hokkaido."

Saitou cursed beneath his breath. He turned his golden eyes to Setsuna, glaring, and growled, "I don't have time for an ahou like you. Get out."

Setsuna flashed Saitou a cocky grin before striding over to the door and sliding it open, walking out past Chou who stood there stuttering something unintelligible and sweating.

"What is it Chou?" Saitou said irritably.

"In Osaka we saw signs of shukuchi, and on the wall smeared in blood was the name Tenken. In Hokkaido the Kage's name was smeared on the wall, but there was no indication that anyone had come in or out. The only proof that anyone was there was the dead man, the writing on the wall, and this" Chou held up an obsidian arrowhead tied to a small cord, "imbedded in the man's throat to disable any hope he had of alerting anyone, and then it was torn upwards into his jugular vein bleeding the poor bastard to death."

Saitou's eyes widened. In his minds eye he saw a man holding up that obsidian arrowhead and with that lively, mischevious, smile that he had, showing that he thought that life was nothing but one big joke he heard him say-

_: It's imoto-chan's (little sister) birthday today and I was hoping you could give this to her for me. I had one a long time ago and she always admired it. :_

_-It looks like the past has come back to bite me in the ass.-_ Saitou's thoughts snarled at him.

"Who was it?" Saitou tried to keep his voice steady but there was a slight hint of a waver as guilt attacked his heart.

"Hell! I don't know who killed 'em!" Chou shouted surprised that Saitou would ask something like that.

"Not the assassin, bakayarou! The politician!" Saitou shouted at Chou. The wolf was amazed at his assistant's stupidity.

"It wasn't a politician. The man's name was listed as Sugimura Yoshie but his real name was Nagakura Shinpachi Noriyuki. He was a kendo instructor but something seemed wrong about it so after my trip to Hokkaido I stopped by the embassy of internal affairs and found out his real name as well as the fact that he was Kumichou Nibantai (captain of the second troop) of the Shinsengumi." Chou was sure Saitou was going to pin him to the wall for being the barer of this bad news.

Saitou stared stunned off into space. Not only had one of his friends and comrades been alive without his knowledge but now he was dead? The pain of a friend dieing tore at him. He wanted to kill something but that would be rash and Chou was too valuable. He strode over to his desk and sat down almost defeated in his wooden chair letting it creak and groan with the force from him practically falling on it, putting his elbows on his desk and face in his hands.

"Boss?" Chou asked, never having seen that expression on his employers face.

All of a sudden Saitou jumped to his feet and shouted, "DAMN HER!!!". As he said this, his fist came down on his desk and pulverized the wooden piece of furniture as if he were using Sano's Futae no Kiwami.

* * *

Soujiro looked up at the sky as it clouded. He shivered and held Kasoku closer to him to stop any of the warmth from leaving the two as well as shielding the little boy. A month had gone by and nothing bad had happened sense the day of the rain without clouds. Last night they had stopped at an inn and stayed for the night. They paid by the money earned from odd jobs they had performed for the elderly. Ochita slid her hat off her head and let it rest on her back. Kai looked up at her and stared at her eyes. As much as the boy would deny it, he too was fascinated by the moonstone orbs. Soujiro gazed at her face, the dazed expression that never left it, its feminine touches accented by the dimming light. He looked at her dark blood colored hair and saw that it was one big knot of small braids that came out from a pony tail. The girl stopped by a tree and leaned against it. Kai knew what that meant and began to grumble. 

Ochita and Soujiro were going to practice. Kai gave Ochita his shinai and Soujiro barrowed Kasoku's. The little boy clapped his hands together happily because he always liked to see his oka and otou spar.

"Seta-san?" Ochita asked.

"Hai, I'm ready." Soujiro replied, tapping his feet on the ground to set the beat at which he would run.

The two shot at each other, both going faster than what the human eye could track. Soujiro hit the blur that was Ochita with his sword but wasn't surprised to see that she parried. They forced each other back and took off again circling each other to look for and opening. It was hard for Soujiro to find an opening because Ochita's form looked contorted and fuzzy. He tried to attack from behind as Ochita began to turn. He was surprised to see Ochita flip backwards over his shinai. Before Soujiro could parry Ochita smashed her sword into his back and he went flying.

_-Why do I keep trying to use cheep tricks on her?-_ Soujiro wondered as he got to his feet, tapped them, and took off running again.

He was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea. Perhaps if he knew the mechanics of the way she ran he could find a weakness in it. Only problem was Ochita never left a trail except at the beginning when she rocked back on her heals and slid her toes back.

_-Perhaps she wouldn't mind explaining it to me.- _Soujiro pondered what to do and looked at the blurry forms feet. They weren't...

_-the whole blur is inches of the ground! How the hell does that work?!-_ Soujiro's mind screamed at him. Was Ochita really running on nothing?

Soujiro stopped causing Ochita to stop, cock her head to the side in a cute manner, and ask in her daydreaming voice, "Is something wrong Seta-san?"

"Ochita I just noticed something very strange."

"So ka?"

"Hai."

Kai piped up, "How could you notice something? You can't even see her."

"I can see her when I'm running at full shukuchi." Soujiro replied in his happy cheerful tone.

"Well then, that explains a lot." Kai muttered.

"Your feet don't touch the ground when you're running." Soujiro said, his same emotionless smile plastered to his face.

"Aa." Was all Ochita said.

"How does this work?" Soujiro asked curiously.

"Whoa, Whoa, Koumori-san runs on air?" Kai asked his eyes bugging.

"Oka!" Kasoku cheered.

"Aa." Ochita whispered.

Whether she was answering Kai's question or acknowledging Kasoku, Soujiro didn't know. He looked into her emotionless eyes that stared upon him like a dead man's. Soujiro shivered but it had nothing to do with the windy weather.

"What do you call your running skill?" Soujiro asked, his interest only increasing.

"Kage Hashiru (shadow run)." Ochita said in a zoned out state.

"How does it work?" Soujiro questioned.

"I rock back on my heels and slip my toes back only slightly so that they are off the ground. When resistance and force become zero I push off. Yet, just as light hits an object, for a split second a shadow isn't cast as the way that for a very short amount of time after I push off resistance and force are still at zero. Everything has solidity then, even air. I push off again and the time is reset. This allows me to run on nothing and leave no trace just as a shadow leaves no trace hence the name 'shadow run'."

"So if I were to compare that to anything it would be like pushing off vertical walls of air with each foot and stride step to accelerate yourself?" Soujiro almost ara'd at the thought.

"Aa." Ochita nodded.

Soujiro smiled.

_-Too easy-_ he thought as he concocted the perfect plan to win at this game.

The fact that she didn't touch anything when she ran was a good thing in most instances but there was a big disadvantage in one particular area that Soujiro happened to excel in.

"Now that I have a better understanding of your running mechanics I'm pretty sure I'll have an easier time." Soujiro announced.

Ochita's lips twitched upwards and Soujiro knew it was meant to be amused and mocking laughter, "So ka?"

"Hai." Soujiro was grinning and cackling evilly on the inside but his face didn't show it.

Tapping his feet he took off again. Ochita did exactly as planned and ran straight to him. Soujiro swerved to the side and ran for the object that would help him defeat Ochita. It was the tree Kai was leaning against. Ochita saw what Soujiro was doing and went for the tree on the opposite side of the field. But, alas, Soujiro got to his tree first causing a startled yelp to emanate from one bratty boy. As with shukuchi, the user could run up walls. Soujiro saw that Ochita, running on air, would have to miss a step in her run to turn up the tree. Soujiro hoped that Ochita was too used to pushing of air instead of solid objects and he was right. He pushed off right before she did, Ochita pushing off to hard because no matter what air would never have as much solidity as a stationary object, therefore she couldn't run on air afterwards. They met in the air with a large crack but because Ochita had pushed off instead of using her run Soujiro knocked her out of the air. She had been going slower then him and he also weighed a great deal more than her considering she was roughly 4'7 feet tall.

Ochita fell to the ground with a "Reh?" and a loud WOMP. Soujiro descended, and lightly landed on his feet. Inside his head, chibi Soujiro was cheering, doing flips and cartwheels. Losing while sparing always made him feel something he didn't want to. Vulnerability and weakness. Ever sense he started sparing with Ochita he'd lost to her superior speed. He'd finally found the flaw, and as he stood there waiting for the dust to clear he felt a sense of accomplishment that he hadn't felt in a very long time. His content sigh was the only thing that could have hinted his happiness.

WACK! WACK! WACK!

"ARARARARARARARARA!!!" Soujiro yelled as he fell, face-first, into the ground.

"You exploited my weakness, which was very good, but you let your guard down too quickly, very muchly so." Ochita whispered in the swirly eyed ruroni's ear.

Kai came running into the half settled dust cloud.

"Daijobu? What happened?" He asked franticly.

"Seta-san knocked me out of the air." Ochita droned.

"Then why is he on the ground? And why the heck aren't you mad at him for hitting you?!" Kai wanted to know seeing as Ochita always batted him out of the air when he tried to hit her.

"I don't get mad," Ochita whispered and a small twitch came to her lips, "I get even."

* * *

"We're going to Kyoto!" Kaoru shouted at the top of her lungs. 

The black haired, sapphire eyed girl ran about on the enigwa happily in excitement. She couldn't wait to see her sea-green eyed ninja friend. And Kaoru would get Misao to wear a kimono if it was the last thing she ever did. She stopped when she saw Kenshin sitting on the enigwa, his eyes shadowed by his hair, looking at the ground in a serious, deep contemplation.

"Kenshin?" She questioned.

"Aa?" He answered, but unlike Kenshin's normal cheerful tone his was flat and emotionless.

"What are you doing?" Kaoru asked.

Kenshin's hand flew to his head and he slightly hit himself yet tried to cover it up by scratching the back of his head. He then turned his face upwards and his cheerful violet eyes stared back up at her. He smiled sweetly and sliding his hand back to his neck he chirped, "Oh, Sessha is just thinking de gozaru yo."

"Thinking about what?" Kaoru asked as she sat down next to him.

"....Nothing, really." Kenshin smiled.

"Are you sure? You looked quite pensive a few seconds ago." Kaoru pointed out.

"Ha...well...Sessha was just daydreaming." Kenshin sighed.

"You know, you work to hard around here. You need a vacation and that's exactly what we're doing. Tomorrow we leave for Kyoto!" Kaoru shouted exitedly.

"Oro?"

* * *

"My, My, Ochita does keep strange company doesn't she?" 

Ichi didn't say a word, just stared into the fire, letting the flames dance against his shinny black eyes. He stood there, motionless, with no expression on his face along side his twin brother.

"Well, it was wise of you to pick another person to frame. It'll just frustrate the Wolf." Namotaru smiled wickedly. He then continued, "I've found someone else to take care of the Tenken though. But first we must wait until they reach Kyoto and they will, they just need a little push."

Ichi and Ni nodded, they put on their police man hats, turned around, and walked out of the western style mahogany doors. A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"So Setsuna-san, how exactly are you going to kill Tenken no Soujiro?"

* * *

Soujiro felt akward. He was in the same room as Ochita, again. He looked at the cedar framed shoji door and wished it would open by itself so that he could escape. But he couldn't and he wouldn't. It had been a tiresome week especially teaching Kai the basics of shukuchi which he had been doing for the past month, save this week was harsher then most. The boy could become faster then most trained swordsman but he couldn't stop and Ochita would constantly have to catch him when he tripped, lest he be pulverized by the sheer force he exerted. Kai was an extremely quick learner, almost insanely quick to copy things. He didn't exactly have the necessary leg power to even go 16 down from shukuchi but he had enough to get everything started and he would build on that. Much to his surprise, once Soujiro had shown Kai, Kasoku had taken off with shukuchi, and because of his superior leg power he was faster then Kai, which only upset the 12 year old. 

Soujiro had taken a bath as had Ochita, Kai and Kasoku. He had on a white sleeping yukata and slipped beneath the blankets of his futon, which was situated right next to Kai's. Ochita was on the other side of the room laying peacefully beside Kasoku who was making small noises in his sleep. Kai seemed restless and he tossed and turned in his futon until Soujiro asked, "Daijobu?"

"Hai. I just can't go to sleep." Kai whispered.

There was a silence for some time as Kai continued to toss and turn but he soon turned on his back, folded his arms behind his head and asked a, in Soujiro's opinion, very random question.

"What do you think the worst way to die is?"

Soujiro thought of all the ways he had killed people, and then all the ways a person could die and he found himself short on an answer. He contemplated the question carefully, not wanting to go into detail on a gruesome death to close to Kai's bedtime. Nightmares was something Soujiro refused to give the kid.

_-What is the most helpless way one can die? If I figure out the answer to that question then I'll have my answer.-_

Soujiro finally had it and replied, "Suffocation by drowning."

"Is that a fear of yours?" Kai asked trivially.

"Iie. I can swim but it just seems that if you couldn't then you'd be totally helpless. It's the only situation besides disease that I can find where one is totally vulnerable to death. Besides which it would take a long time for you to die." Soujiro answered back in a small yet cheerful voice. He didn't feel happy about it though.

"Do you have any fears?" Kai asked idily, as if he were just passing the time instead of being truly interested.

Soujiro thought for a moment. Did he? He was emotionless but did that leave him devoid of fear. Maybe he wasn't so emotionless. His fears and worst nightmares were something he hid well but it didn't mean he didn't have them.

"If anyone of you died. That is defiantly my greatest fear. To not be able to protect the people I care about. To be helpless and weak." Soujiro replied in a soft voice that didn't quite hold a quiver but could have had he thought of the answer more.

"Me too. Even if it was Koumori-san, no, especially if it were Koumori-san. I don't know why but when I look at the way she looks at you or me or the kid it makes me angry. Like she doesn't care. I start to wonder if she has any fears. Do you think she does?" Kai asked.

Before Soujiro could answer he heard Ochita's soft voice.

"Many fears, very muchly so."

Both Kai and Soujiro almost jumped out of their futons. The blankets almost slid off of them and Kai had sat up straight.

"Shit, Koumori-san you scared the crap out of me!" He whispered harshly.

Ochita turned around slowly and stared at both males with dazed moonstone eyes. There was a piercing silence that lasted a split second yet to both Soujiro and Kai it felt like forever. Ochita lifted her hand and put it out in front of her moving it about as if she were touching something only she could see. She did this for a while, looking at whatever the invisible object she touched was. Soujiro looked at her hands. Her palms were small but her fingers were twice the length of her palms and slender, nimble, looking like spiders legs, which was a bit creepy. He had put his hand up to hers in comparison once and found out that her fingers were about a joint bigger than his. It was like her fingers were made to hold weapons.

"I do care, very muchly so."

Kai blushed knowing she had heard him. He just sighed and lay back down.

"Well, what are they?"

"What are what?" Ochita asked.

"Your fears, Koumori-san." Kai muttered.

"Besides the obvious fear that one of you would dare die on me I also fear Tabi, waragi, geta sandles, western style beds, Kimonos, Strange gold haired gaijin girls in little white dresses with bows in their hair, meat, scare crows, weapon factories, small spaces, really tall or big people, and a few choice emotions." Ochita said in a daydreaming voice.

Soujiro and Kai: 0o; o0;

"Sorry I asked." Kai said in an exasperated tone.

"Now that your questions have been answered try to get some rest."

"Hai."

Kai tossed and turned in his futon a little longer but eventual fell asleep. He confirmed this to Soujiro with the small sleepy noises he made. Soujiro thought a little longer on what Ochita had said. He rolled over and stared at the shadowed corner with his sky blue eyes.

_-I don't like scare crows either.-_

* * *

Important! Important! Important! 

Nagakura Shinpachi Noriyuki was in fact a kendo instructor in Hokkaido after the Bakafu. He died at the age of 76 in1915 okay. I just used the name and stuff so.....ya he was still alive at the time this fanfic takes place. His alias was really Sugimura Yoshie though.

Arigato! For the reviews of course. Please keep reviewing even if it is criticism it is accepted by me for I know sometimes my writing may seem incompetent to those of us who are extremely good writers very muchly so. I would like to announce my wonderful reviewers and personally thank them.

Bastet Solarwind

caljay123

himura2123

MaskOfEternalDarkness

naniek

Shahrezad1

SamuraiGirl

Dreamchasereternity

Rachael

Arigato, very muchly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	12. Enter Shin

Chibi Ochita: I am sorry for not updating sooner very muchly so. I've been a bit busy. I will now insert a disclaimer.

I own no one of the Ruroni Kenshin cast very muchly so.

_**Enter Shin**_

_Everything that is in darkness is in light._

_Everything that is in whispers is in screams._

_Air becomes solid and rock becomes nothingness._

_Physical pain is something that can not be felt._

_Blades become feathers that caress my skin._

_Family becomes foe as the sun rises and moon sets._

_I feel nothing, nothing at all._

_Save the burning scars down my cheeks and the scares on my soul._

_Save the scare on my neck that burns with its symbol._

_Unwanted._

"KAORU-SAN!" The green eyed omnitsu hugged her friend tightly as she stepped off the platform of the train.

"MISAO-CHAN!" Kaoru laughed.

They ended their joyful embrace and looked at one another. Both friends were so happy to see each other. Sanosuke, Yahiko and Kenshin were all stepping off the platform…well…the clumsy ruroni fell off of it due to the fact that he was carrying all the luggage. Megumi smirked as she came off of it gracefully. Then she frowned and turned to the ex-street fighter.

"Tori-atama! Help Ken-san with the luggage!" She scowled.

"Hai, Kitsune-hime." He mocked her as he grabbed some of the bags from the swirly eyed ruroni.

Kenshin got up only to be glomped by an overly energetic ninja shouting, "Himura!"

"Oro?" Kenshin exclaimed as he was floored once more.

Misao popped to her feet and gave an award winning weasel grin, "I can't wait for the festival."

As always, she'd probably concocted some crazy plan to get Aoshi out of the temple and to the fest. The icy eyed man with the cold demeanor, although the opposite of Misao, was who she'd picked to love. Why? Hell if Kaoru knew. She barely new the man. He was just always…there. Never polite, and never rude, always indifferent to everything. At least they had a week to figure out a way to get him to go to the festival.

_That'll take some brain work._

Misao bounced around happily chatting with Kaoru, seemingly telling the older girl everything that had happened sense the last time they saw each other. They walked out of the busy train station and into the equally busy street of Kyoto. Kaoru sighed a little and watched Kenshin walk ahead of everyone. His walk was his normal half off balanced way. All of a sudden he stopped and the bags in his arms fell to the ground with a thud. Kaoru ran up to him and looked at him. His eyes had a strange glint in them that she'd seen a little too often for comfort. The only thing that had surprised her was the fact that they were wide open and staring in seeming disbelief at…a little black haired girl with gray eyes who was currently daydreaming..? All of a sudden the girl snapped back to reality as a woman who was obviously the little girls mother came by and grabbed her by the arm so she wouldn't get lost. The little girl smiled brightly at her mother. Kenshin shook his head and exhaled a breath he'd been holding.

"Kenshin, diajobu?" Kaoru asked concerned.

Kenshin gave his famous ruroni smile to Kaoru and said, "Hai Kaoru-dono."

He leaned down and picked up the bag but Kaoru saw that he was shaking. She became worried and offered to help but he rejected her offer. He just walked on a little faster then usual. When they reached the Aoi-ya, to everyone's surprise, Aoshi was out side waiting for them. Not to anyone's surprise, he had on his stoic, calm, emotionless face as always. Sano, of who, was caring an impossible amount of luggage, as was Kenshin, because Kaoru had gone through all her kimono's to pick out the ones that would fit Misao, which seemed to be all of them, shouted, "Oi, ice-cube, a little help over here!"

Aoshi dismissed the insult in his usually icy way. He fixed his eyes on Kenshin and walked forward to take the luggage from him. He stopped before Kenshin and bent down to take the luggage. The red head let him and he led all of them inside, leaving poor Sano to stumble in after them. As Aoshi carried the bags up to their rooms, he saw his friend beside him staring at the ground in a strange way. It wasn't like the ruroni to not start a conversation with the ninja thus leading Aoshi to the conclusion that something was wrong.

"Something wrong, Battosai?" He asked.

"Iie. Nothing is wrong de gozaru." Kenshin smiled at the taller man.

Aoshi looked at his friend's face and saw that there was defiantly something different. There was something wrong with him. The smile seemed to be so strained it almost looked painful. Aoshi not knowing how to say it in his own words cleared his throat, "Then, in Sagara's words, 'What's with the face'?"

Kenshin was very caught off guard with that, oro'd, and face vaulted. Aoshi stopped and looked even further down at the red haired man. Kenshin sighed a mushroom cloud, picked himself up as well as the bags, and muttered about crossing something off his 'never-thought-I'd-live-to-see-the-day' list. Aoshi stared at the older man with what looked to be expectance.

"Nothing is wrong de gozaru." Kenshin sighed.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me what's on your mind?" Aoshi stated more than asked.

Kenshin knew that nothing could get by the stoic man, even if his happy façade could get by his other friends. He looked at Aoshi and sighed again saying, "Nothing really." What was he supposed to tell him? That memories and the present had started to collide within his mind? That his wishful thinking was starting to make him hallucinate?

_Nothing? I'll believe that the day Okina stops being a letch and Misao willingly wears a kimono._

Aoshi decided not to press the matter any further. They dropped everything off in the right rooms and proceeded downstairs.

"Oh Misao-chan I just don't understand it." Kaoru whimpered as she hugged her friend.

"It's okay Kaoru-san, Himura has always been a bit distant." Misao tried to comfort her worried friend.

"But the way he looks…like something his torturing him from the inside…it makes me want to cry. His eyes get that strange glint and it's been happening more than usual. I thought after the Shishio incident it would never again appear on his face but now I see it and it's like I'm worried that he'll…I don't even know what to call it really…like…revert back into Battousia or something." Kaoru sobbed.

"Don't worry Kaoru-san, maybe it will go away. I'm sure Himura is fine." Misao gave her a weak smile.

Just then the shouji opened and Sanosuke walked in with a fish bone sticking out of his mouth. He frowned and asked, "What's going on Jou-chan?"

Sano regarded Kaoru as a younger sister therefore couldn't stand to see her cry, hell, he couldn't stand to see any woman cry, it was like some sort of weird weakness of his or something. He sat down next to them and stared at her, waiting for her to reply.

"Kenshin…he seems so-"

"Out of it? Yeah I know. Don't worry, whatever it is he'll get over it." Sano snorted then continued, "What I don't get is why he was staring at that little girl. Looked like he'd seen a ghost or something."

Kaoru cried, "I know. What's wrong with him?"

"Don't worry about it really, I'm sure Himura'll be fine." Misao smiled and hugged her friend closer.

But Misao had noticed the way the ruroni had stared at that little girl, disbelief mixed with yearning. She wasn't really sure her read headed friend was okay.

* * *

Ochita sat there playing that strange pipe of hers, long spindly, crooked, bent fingers dancing over the holes carved out of the obsidian tube. I stared at her wishing she would take of the hat. Why did she treasure it so much? We'd stopped to take a rest, the beginning of winter was setting in and traveling in the cold weather wasn't really such a great idea but I didn't complain. It really didn't bother me but I was concerned for Kai and Kasoku's health. I knew Ochita would be fine, she seemed to travel everywhere she pleased and didn't wish to come in contact with any towns. I wondered if it was because she didn't like being around so many people. I didn't understand why she didn't like that but I supposed it was because she found them annoying. I wasn't sure though. 

We sat in the grassy meadow and I just listened to the beautiful notes of a somewhat sorrowful song she played. It flowed about touching and caressing me, making the urge to cry almost overpowering but still I sat there with a smile on my face. I remembered Kai asking me if it was because my face had gotten stuck in that position from smiling too much when I was little. He said his mother used to tell him that when he frowned, that it would get stuck on his face. I suppose that is what happened but not truly the essence of why I still let the smile display on my mouth. I didn't wish to bare my emotions to the world, to be totally vulnerable to criticism. If I let my smile fall I was afraid anyone would look into my eyes and find out that I was once a killer, the horrible things I had done. I wanted to hide my past from the world so I did…I hid it behind an emotionless smile that meant nothing to anyone but everything to me.

Ochita stopped playing and stood up, she walked towards me and sat behind me for some reason. I heard a small shredding sound and jumped when I felt her long fingers in my hair. It didn't feel as creepy as I thought it would, to have her slender digits rake through my hair. It almost felt kind of…nice. She stopped and tied my hair back. It had gotten pretty long, down to my shoulders, my bangs were sort of hanging down to my nose so she got in front of me, took out a tantou and cut some of them away. It almost felt natural for a moment and then to my horror I realized something. She had saved my life and taken care of me for the past two and a half months and I hadn't said thank you once to her. Hell! I didn't even call her Ochita-'san'. Then again that does sound kind of weird if you think about it. 'honorable fallen' someone that is fallen isn't honorable so I suppose I had subconsciously left off the honorific title. But still I had never ever been that rude in my life…well…anou…shit that didn't make sense. I mean I'd never been that rude to someone who had done something good for me. I quickly caught her hand and she tilted her head to the side in a quizzical way.

"Domo Ochita"

"Reh?" She asked, not really understanding where that even came from.

"Arigato…for everything." I murmured.

"Doitashimashite Seta-san." She spoke dazedly back.

We sat there in a sort of silence, I holding onto her wrist, letting it slide through my fingers and looking down at the grass, the smile still present on my face. I knew well that Ochita knew of my dealings with Shishio. How? I have absolutely no idea but I knew she did. How else would she know me? I knew for a fact that I'd never laid eyes upon her before…but something kept nagging me in the back of my mind. Her facial structure reminded me so much of someone but I couldn't place it and it frustrated me beyond reason. Still the fact that the girl knew of all the horrible things I'd done made me feel sick, but some how, that, in no way, made me self conscious around her. What was it about her that made me feel so at ease? Maybe it was the fact that she knew of my bloody past but that she accepted me despite it that made me feel this way. I stared at her emotionless moonstone eyes. At first I had found them creepy, I had found everything about her creepy but in an interesting way that borderlined twisted. Now when I looked at them I found them beautiful…strange but still beautiful. Her hair seemed to be a constant reminder of the color of blood, something that I had spilt many times. It at one point disgusted me yet fascinated me at the same time. Now I just wanted to take all of those knotted braids out and run my fingers through it just to see how it felt.

But the expressionless façade. I wished to wipe it off her face more than anything. I so desperately wanted to see her smile. It made me feel stupid, this obsession to find out anything I could about her, this want to see what it looked like when she was happy, this overwhelming curiosity that plagued me when ever I looked upon her sharp face. And her surname, I needed to know it. Why? Why did I want it though? Why was I doing this? Why was I following her around? Was it just out of my inquisitiveness and lack of better things to do or was it something more than that? I knew she had a reason for not telling me her patronymic. That only increased my interest in _who_ Ochita really was. So many strange quirks about the girl, like the little metal piece on her ear, how on earth had she gotten a piece of the top of her ear cut out so that she had to now conceal it with that small metal bit? Why…why did the expression in her eyes reflect that of a soulless person but something about her face made you think she was sad?

Then I saw them.

Two very thin scars that ran down from her eyes in a pattern of which made it look like she was forever crying. They were faint but I could still see them easily and wondered why I hadn't before. How did she get them? Another mystery in the enigma that was Ochita. All of these questions tormented me. I had almost forgotten my reason for being a ruroni, to find the truth. But…. Then the thought slammed me in the back of the head like a brass hammer.

I wasn't a ruroni.

A wanderer has no destination in mind and I did. My destination was Ochita. Where she went I went. There was no wandering for me, it wasn't my decision to wander, I just followed her.

WHY???!!!!

All of these questions, all of these mysteries, all of this twisted way of living, everything just frustrated me more than not being able to find the truth. It made me want to scream and tear my hair out, beat my head against the ground…but I just smiled a dead pan smile and endured this torture of the mind.

I turned and watched Kai and Kasoku spar, both using around 17 down from real shukuchi, just little blurs zipping around. I smiled softly remembering teaching each of them about a month back to sense ki. Ochita and I couldn't really do a good demonstration seeing as we both didn't have ki but I knew how to show them otherwise. I blind folded each of them, set them apart, and told them to find each other. They were too far away to hear each other but about after a week they found each other in one of the little trial runs. They'd gotten better at it and could sense people a very far off distance. Ochita, to my surprised, knew how to use shurikin throwing stars and had taught Kai how to through them two months ago. She was a little too cautious to give something sharp and pointy to Kasoku. The giggling child could put someone's eye out or something if that happened. I had seen Kai throw them and noticed that he had copied Ochita. He wasn't as good at it as she herself was but never the less he always hit his target which happened to be a tree or some poor unsuspecting bandit.

All of a sudden both Ochita and I went tense. We heard footsteps, many of them coming in our direction, boots snapping leaves and twigs as they crunched through the forest behind us. We both stood up, Ochita slipping on her hat, we grabbed the hilts of our swords, and spun around. I called for Kai and Kasoku to stop sparring and to get behind me. They did as told and…

No.

"Shi no Tenshi, Tenken, you are under arrest for assassination." The cop announced.

I saw the unit of rifle men behind him and then I heard gun shots. I turned to Ochita and saw her block a bullet with her…wrist? Then I saw what was on her wrist. It was a shackle. I quickly jumped in front of Kai and grabbed him taking off knowing Ochita would follow with Kasoku soon after. We both disappeared but I soon saw her running beside me. I was too stunned to do anything at all besides run. She grabbed my hand and jerked me in some direction. We both darted through the forest going at an impossible speed, I working my hardest just to keep up with her. I heard a distant sound and then we came out of the forest. Ochita, still holding my hand, leapt into the air, I flying behind her. I heard the sound and all of a sudden I realized that a train was coming by and just as we were landing it came under us. We both landed on the roof of the train and held on tight to the boys. I looked at Ochita and too my horror I saw that the bullet had gone through the manacle on her wrist hitting…an artery. I saw a bullet wound through her shoulder and one through her side. I shifted to get closer to her but I felt pain and looked down. A bullet had blown through my side as well. Thankfully I had picked Kai up one handed and carried him on my other side or else it would have surely hit him. Even in my pain I still got closer to Ochita of who did not wince in the slightest at the pain she was enduring by holding Kasoku close in her lap. She got into her bag and took out a marble, jammed it into her wrist, took out a bandage and stick, and made a tourniquet. I remember her telling me that she couldn't really feel anything and slightly wondered if that also meant she had the inability to feel pain.

"Ochita?" I whispered and her head snapped in my direction immediately.

"Aa." She whispered back.

I didn't really know what to say. I was scared. I'd failed. I thought I could protect the people I cared about but I couldn't. I couldn't protect them from my past.

"I couldn't out run my past." I whispered to her.

A small curve came to her lips and she spoke quietly and as dreamily as ever, "No Seta-san, you can out run your past easily. We just weren't trying to do that at the present time. There is only one thing you can not out run."

It slightly surprised me so I asked, "What?"

"Your shadow." And with that Ochita passed out.

I caught her and tears streamed down my face, blowing away into the wind as I held her limp form. I saw something else in her hand, a note. I picked it from her closed fist and, brushing the hair out of my face that was fly-away in the wind, I read what was written.

_Once in Kyoto, find Shin-san._

Shin-san?

* * *

Shinomori Aoshi was walking back from the temple where he spent wonderful hours of peace and tranquility. Unfortunately a certain genki omnitsu had forgotten to bring him his precious tea. And Aoshi really needed his tea fix today. Then he heard it. 

"SHIN-SAN!!! SHIN-SAN"

that voice. He'd heard that voice before. Never with that sort of desperation but still he'd heard it. Aoshi quickened his pace until he came to an intersection in the main road of Kyoto. Blue eyes wide with fear, dark almost black chestnut-brown hair, but his smile was gone.

Tenken no Soujiro.

"SHIN-SAN!" He screamed again.

Aoshi looked at what the boy held. What ever it was it was bloody and so was he. He saw to younger boys standing near the Tenken also shouting out for 'Shin-san'. Aoshi always knew Soujiro called him 'Shinomori san' but slightly wondering if the youth were referring to the ex-Okashira as 'Shin-san'.

_Why else would he be in Kyoto if not looking for you? He's got a…bullet wound?_

Aoshi's eyes widened at that. The Tenken was still yelling for 'Shin-san' but no one answered. Many people were staring wide eyed and terrified at the once assassin. Not because of who he used to be but because he was bleeding profusely and so was the person in his arms of who was wearing a gray battered rice hat. Aoshi watched as the Tenken's eyes went blank and he passed out on the ground.

"Otou!" The child screamed and went to hug him.

_Otou? Isn't the Tenken a little young to have a child…then again he might have 'fooled around' as Sagara puts it. Why do I find my self quoting him so much as of late?_

The pink eyed boy clapped his hands to his head and shouted, "Kami-sama! Soujiro-kun and Koumori-san are gonna die!"

Tears were streaming down the children's faces, the little one was kneeling down between the two lip figures and crying for his 'otou' and 'oka'. Aoshi decided that this public display was neither in the best interest of the citizen's of Kyoto, nor himself seeing as he had, had dealings with Shishio and Tenken no Soujiro.

Striding through the crowed with his white and yellow trench coat fluttering behind him he made his way over to the center of all the commotion. He bent down, and with a slight grunt picked up both the Tenken and who he assumed to be his wife, judging by the way the mint eyed child was acting towards the two.

"What are you doing?! Put em' down now! What do you think your doing with them?!" The pink eyed boy snarled, whipping out a shinai.

Aoshi cleared his throat and spoke calmly to the over stressed kid, "I am an acquaintance of the former Tenken and have no intentions of hurting him. As you can see, you have created quite an up-stir within the vicinity so I'll ask you to kindly come with me back to the Aoi-ya where these two will be treated."

_Damn I hate talking._

"Tenken? Who the hell is the Tenken?" The boy shouted at Aoshi.

"Seta Soujiro." The ex-Okashira replied calmly.

"Oh…I guess that does make sense…I mean he is a good fighter and all." The boy seemed to be reasoning with himself but then shouted, "Hey wait a minute!" Aoshi was walking away, the toddler scuttling behind him.

"Why should I trust _you_? The people that tried to kill us called him that and her the…something 'r other I don't know. How do I know you don't just want to go back to where ever we're going and kill 'em both?"

Aoshi inwardly sighed. He really needed his tea at the moment and carrying two bloody bodies through the streets of Kyoto with his criminal record wasn't really a bright idea. He decided to try to change the subject, "Who are you? You are the one wandering around with the Tenken, and judging by the fact that you're holding a shinai you're probably his apprentice there fore you might be dangerous. How can I trust you?"

_That ought to shut the kid up for a little while…just until I get my beloved tea. Then I can handle anything but at the moment…_

Aoshi's thoughts were cut off by the boy, "I'm Shitoku Kai apprentice to Koumori-san and Smiley Face there! If you think that I could possibly be dangerous by being his apprentice than you must think he's dangerous there fore you intend to hurt him so set them down before I wipe this road with your ass!"

_So close._ Aoshi thought realizing he had almost made it to the Aoi-ya without having the kid blow up at him. He had to admit the boy had a pretty logical mind and was extremely intelligent to have possibly picked up on those details in his sentence.

He cleared his throat and said, hoping to intimidate the boy into shutting up, "I am Aoshi Shinomori, ex-Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu. I am well acquainted with the Tenken and as I told you earlier I have no intention of hurting him. All I am trying to say is that if you did not know me nor recognize me on sight that you might jump to conclusions and assume the worst, thusly you could do something rash and hurt someone."

Aoshi walked straight into the Aoi-ya leaving a dumbfounded Kai in his wake. Kai put on a frown and stomped in after the tall icy man.

"Now just hold on a minute you damn Popsicle!" Kai shouted as he stormed up the steps after Aoshi of who ignored him.

"Former leader of the Oniwabanshuu my ass! You don't expect me to believe that kind of bullshit do you? Next thing I know you'll be telling me that Hitokiri Battosai lives across the street or something!" The angry boy shouted.

Kenshin popped his head out around the corner of the door frame and asked, "Oro?"

Aoshi was really not in the mood and grumbled out, "Battosai, show Kai-san to a room and please inform Takani-sensei that I have two patients up here that are in dire need of treatment."

The ex-hitokiri's eyes widened and he stared at who his ninja friend was holding.

"Is that Soujiro-san?"

"Aa."

"Oka!"

"And his wife."

"Mou!"

"And their son."

"Nani!" Kai had shouted after being shot back to reality for a second, more so questioning the fact that the tall ninja referred to the red head across from him as Battosai.

"And his apprentice."

"What has happened to him?"

"Apparently he and his wife have been shot." Aoshi replied stoically.

The information caused Kenshin's eyes to widen. He turned down to Kai and asked, "Is this true?"

The boy stared at Kenshin with deep pink sapphire eyes, before asking, "What the hell do you want with them?"

"Oro?" Kenshin asked surprised by the boy's language.

"If you're really Battosai or whatever, and ice man over there is actually king of the ninjas then how in the seven hells do you know smiley boy and why? Why does everyone keep calling him Kenten or Tenken or whatever? What the hell is going on?!" Kai shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Boyo(kid)-san you should just-"

"Don't talk to me with that settle down crap! Don't speak to me in that damned condescending way! I'm 14 dammit! (A/N: Ochita was taking a guess when she said he was twelve. If you read earlier she also tells you age isn't something that can be determined by the eye. It say's he is twelve in the last chapter but keep in mind no one has been told otherwise, so it is what everyone that comes by Kai thinks.) I may look like some short ass kid but NEWSFLASH! I'M NOT! I couldn't care less if you were one of the Kami-sama themselves but your going to tell me what the fuck is going on!" Kai was panting after yelling so hard and his voice had gotten a little bit horse.

Kenshin was very startled and realized by the look in the boy's eyes that he was speaking to an adult masquerading as a child. This was in no way the same as Yahiko's predicament with the incessant want to be treated as an adult even though he was a kid and acted like one. This kid had lived his first three years during the revolution and as a child had probably seen some unsavory things after that. Aoshi had stopped and stared at the boy in front of him. Kenshin sighed and started forward but quicker then lightning the boy had spun around, grabbed Soujiro's nihontou, unsheathed it and was pointing it at the ex-hitokiri.

"I'm not going to play dumb and take chances. If you are Battosai, and judging by your ki you very well could be, you can explain everything from a nice safe distance." He hissed at Kenshin waggling the sword back and forth with a cynical smile on his lips.

Aoshi quickly retreated into a side room and laid both Soujiro and his 'wife' down. He came up behind Kai with every intention of knocking the kid out with the sheath of his twin kodochi when his reflexes took into effect and he dodged something sharp and heading his way at a blinding speed.

A shurikin throwing star was imbedded within the wall of the Aoi-ya exactly where Aoshi's right hand had been not a moment before.

"Watch it ninja boy." Kai growled.

Kenshin cleared his throat and said, "Your right. I apologize de gozaru yo. Do not be so distrusting though. I will tell you everything but you'll have to wait a while, I have to get your teachers a doctor and it just so happens that there is one downstairs. If you will be so patient as to let me go down and get her I will explain any of your questions de gozaru yo."

Kai stared at him, then reluctantly sheathed the blade, and, falling back, he slid down the wall until he was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his eyes in his palms. He sighed out, "Somebody just make Koumori-san and Soujiro-kun better…I really can't have them die on me." His voice cracked at the end of his sentence and his shoulders began to shake in fear.

Aoshi looked at Kenshin. He still had every intention of knock the young teen out and he stepped forward only to feel something sharp on his calf. He looked down and saw the child holding four shurikin throwing stars in between each finger, lightly holding them against his leg.

"Take one more step towards my brother and I will slit your jugular vein."

Now that startled everyone. Kenshin looked down at the boy who looked up at him with mint green eyes and said, "Don't get the wrong impression oji-san(uncle). I just really am not in the mood to see anyone else in my family unconscious."

Kai looked at his 'little brother'. He didn't know Kasoku could talk and said, "Oh hell hath descended upon me now."

The boy spoke with a voice that was not his usually happy gleeful one. It was lower and had a sort of airy quality, like the sound of wind rushing through the leaves of a willow tree.

"Gomen for not informing you of my little secret, this little game I play with everyone. I believe in two things- 'ignorance is bliss' and 'silence is always and forever shall be the best answer'. Apparently those aren't necessarily true today. I find I must talk to keep onii-sama (He is referring to Aoshi.) here from knocking you out cold and I'm not really too happy about that. Excuse my rudeness, I am Takiyama Kusaki but most just call me 'Kasoku'. I tell you I prefer the latter."

Everyone was quiet until Kai squawked, "How old are you?"

"Eight, but most believe me to be somewhere around the age of three due to my short stature and the fact that I don't say anything besides three words for the most part." He spun around at Kenshin and gave him a sweet smile, "Dear oji-san, get the good doctor will you onegai shimasu?"

Kenshin just smiled back and nodded. He walked downstairs and got Megumi of whom was helping Okon and Omasu with the business despite the fact that the two omnitsu ladies had told her no. They didn't want a guest working but the fox doctor had insisted. Kenshin informed Megumi of what had happened and with out hesitation, even at the name Tenken no Soujiro, she ran upstairs to her room, dragged her medicine chest out, and ran back into the room that Aoshi had set both injured persons in. She shut the door behind her with a look that clearly said, 'come in here while I'm working and die'.

The ex-hitokiri walked over to Kai and smiled down at him saying, "Perhaps you should take a bath."

Kai peered up at Kenshin, grabbed the red headed man by his magenta gi, and brought him down to his face, "I have a bone to pick with you."

Kenshin laughed nervously until Kai kicked his feet out from beneath the former manslayer and Kenshin slammed into the ground with an, "ORO!"

The ex-hitokiri rolled over and looked up at the peeved adolescent.

"Che. Battosai? Tell me you weren't named that at birth."

Kenshin: -.-;

"Iie. My name is Himura Kenshin de gozaru yo."

"Good, we're getting somewhere. Now tell me 'Himura-san' how on earth, do you know Smiley Face in there." Kai jerked his head in the direction of the door way both his mentor's had been set down in.

Kenshin sighed, "It is a rather long story."

"Good, I'll be looking for a way to pass the time until night otherwise I'd fall asleep and my schedule would be thrown off."

Again: -.-;

_This kid **really** isn't like Yahiko._

Kenshin rolled the possibility of lying around in his head but realized he'd get caught in his words somehow. The boy, although with his pink eyes and feminine features, still more so boyish then female, was neither innocent nor stupid. He was far too observant to fool.

_I hope Soujiro-san doesn't kill me for this. Had I been in his position I would._

Kenshin put on a grave expression and retold the story to Kai, of who listened to every word. The ex-manslayer himself realized that with the fact that he knew close to nothing about Soujiro's past up until that point made his story rather hard to follow. The 14 year old really didn't seem to mind. The former hitokiri could practically see the wheels turning in his head. He had seen that calculating gaze somewhere, that strange hidden intelligence, but where? The name entered his head and Kenshin didn't know whether to smile bitterly or frown in distaste.

_Enishi._

Kenshin shook that thought free of his head. He didn't really want to contemplate what the ex-triad leader was up too but he hoped it wasn't something illegal. Then again if he walked out in the streets of Kyoto, for him, it would be considered illegal. He looked at the teen youth and saw him staring at his calloused hands. So many thoughts and emotions darted across his pink eyes.

"I suppose somewhere in my head I suspected something but this is…ridiculous." He finished.

"What has Soujiro-san been up to?" Kenshin asked Kai, the curiosity was killing him at the moment.

"I don't really know, he's always lost in his thoughts, the other day he walked into a tree while he was thinking. I always thought 'how could this guy be such a good swordsman but an idiot when it comes to everything else?' I mean really, I threw a rock at him the other day to put around the campfire and it beaned him in the head. He follows Koumori around to, not even the Kami-sama know where, following her dumb broken compass, he's clumsier than the kid, and he lit his sleeve on fire last time we asked him to start one. He's not exactly the sharpest knife in the kitchen. I don't know whether you'd find this offensive or not but you two strike me more as plain old bums, not assassins."

.; Kenshin didn't really know if he should find that offensive or not. Being a bum was certainly better than being an assassin.

"Anou…domo?"

"Yeah whatever, you're right, I need a bath." Kai grunted getting up, his clothes were bloodstained badly.

"I will make it for you."

Kai looked startled and Kenshin smiled at that. The boy then put on a sheepish grin, "Suppose I've been bathing in lakes and rivers a little too often."

Kenshin's smile got wider and he murmured, "I know exactly what you mean."

Kai began to laugh. He then stretched his back and yawned, looking around lazily for Kasoku. He had to talk with that kid. All of a sudden Misao zipped in and pointed accusingly at Kai, "You tried to kill Himura!"

"Uhh…"

"Kansatsu Tobikunai!" Shouted the omnitsu.

"Whoa!" Kai shouted ducking.

"Oro!" Kenshin shouted as the small throwing knives imbedded into the wall behind him, framing his upper body, one almost hitting his head until he ducked.

o.0

"Gomen Himura!" Misao shouted at the ruroni then turned to Kai, "Why you little!"

Kai dodged many punches and a few kicks.

"Kecho Giri!"

"Yikes!" He shouted as he ducked and the omnitsu flew over him.

"Com'on! Fight me like a man!" Misao shouted at the young teen.

"Look lady, you got it all wrong." Kai laughed at Misao.

"Wha-"

"Misao-dono, Kai-san did not trust me, his threat was based solely on the will to protect his friends from me."

"That's stupid! Why would you hurt them?" Misao shouted.

"Oi, lady, Mr. Sunshine said he was Battosai ok? Not that I really care now. He could be a purple spotted toad and I wouldn't give a shit. (there goes the overactive imagination) I just got a little worried at first. From what I've heard, him and Smiley didn't exactly see eye to eye for a little while so, even still, I had a right to be apprehensive."

"Huh?" Misao asked not believing that someone could threaten Kenshin knowing he was a hitokiri and then befriend him the next moment. No one did that.

"What do you mean 'huh?'" Kai snorted.

"Soooo…you don't hold a grudge or anything?"

"Can't really hold what isn't there can I?" Kai snapped back cattily.

"Oi, what does that mean!"

The young teen put his face in his hands and said, "Means that it doesn't matter to me what his last job was, as long as he hasn't killed someone within the last week I don't feel anything for it."

"Oh." Misao said quite embarrassed that she'd attacked an innocent civilian.

Kenshin smiled softly and his voice contained a lot of amusement when he spoke, "You're certainly quick to forgive, aren't you Kai-san?"

"What's there to forgive? You never did anything wrong."

Kenshin seemed disturbed and startled at that, "You don't find killing wrong?"

"I know why you killed those people. You killed them because, if not an official then everyone else. You're intentions were good even if what you were doing was morally incorrect. My mom always said if you're truly sorry then you're forgiven and by the sound of it you're sorry."

Misao smiled at him as the boy turned away. He stared at the door for a few seconds as if he were waiting for something.

"Domo." Kenshin murmured. He'd never heard someone forgive him when he hadn't physically expressed his unhappiness towards his past actions. It was strange to think that even though Kai knew who he was, he just, within his mind, erased all of the ex-assassin's past sins and treated him as if he were just a normal person.

Kai turned to him and quirked an eyebrow, "For what? Did I give you some sort of new knowledge or insight or something? Or is it that you just thank anyone who states basic facts? Che. I can't decide whether you're weird or just plain stupid."

The former manslayer frowned at that.

_Does he have to be so rude?_

"You're thinking is so much like Koumori-san that it's starting to get a little eerie. I'd swear you resemble her too."

"Oro?"

Kai just slid open the door to the court yard and walked away. He wanted to explore some.

* * *

Megumi couldn't get the hat off the strange girl she'd been healing. 

_The tourniquet, that was surprising. Who ever she is she's extremely clever._

The fox doctor had tended to Soujiro's wounds as well as the girl's at the same time. Soujiro's were minimal; the bullet had passed through without hitting anything vital. The same could be said for the girl save the pierced artery. Megumi had fixed that first but she'd had to slide down the shackle, a shackle that had an interesting title.

_Who on earth is the Shi no Tenshi? That's a rather gruesome name for a little girl._

Megumi was up the whole night tending to the two and wouldn't let anyone in. Soujiro awoke in the middle of the night and was completely frantic…which the fox didn't understand considering the strained smile on his face.

"Ochita." He kept searching around and once he saw her he tried to get over to her had not Megumi stopped him.

"I'm sorry Soujiro-san but your much too injured to be moved as is your wife."

She saw the young man's face turn cherry red and he made an unintelligible sound that sounded, to Megumi, something similar to, "Ara?"

The smile fell off his face almost immediately and he asked, "Will she be alright?"

Megumi didn't know what to say but said the only thing she could say, "I'm not sure."

Immediately she regretted that when she saw tears form in Soujiro's sky blue eyes. The doctor looked down sympathetically, "I'm sorry that I don't have an answer, I've done all I can for her."

She saw him replace his smile, a dead smile with no emotion, obviously trying to cover up the pain and fear he was feeling.

_I thought Tori-atama and Ken-san said he didn't feel emotions._

"Domo Arigato gosaimasu…"

"Takani Megumi."

"Takani-sensei."

There was a silence for a while before Soujiro asked, "Anou…where are we?"

"At the Aoi-ya. Aoshi-san found you in the square with your wife, son, and apprentice."

Another, "Ara?"

The fox doctor ignored that, "Soujiro-san I think it would be best if you tried to get some sleep, you lost a lot of blood."

"Hai." Soujiro said in a small voice.

Megumi saw the young man's eyelids flutter shut, a smile stretched across his face. Even as he slept he smiled.

_Sano was right, I already want to tear that damn thing off his face. How on earth can someone so innocent looking and young be an ex-killer. I mean, Ken-san sure, ok, its borderline believable but this kid? And what was he saying earlier. Ochita was it? Is that his wife's name…isn't he a little young for a wife? I guess if he has a son though…And who names there child 'fallen'. Maybe its some sort of weird nickname…Shi no Tenshi is kind of a weird nickname though so I think that position is already taken. _

The shouji slid open and Sanosuke poked his head inside, "Dinners ready, Megitsune."

"I'm coming Tori-atama."

"Oi, how's the kid?"

"Soujiro-san was awake not a few moments ago, but now he's asleep and I want no one to come in this room under any circumstances." Megumi snorted, striding out the door and sliding it shut afterwards.

"Whatever you say kitsune-hime." Sanosuke retorted.

They both walked to the dining room and saw everyone gathered around the table. Megumi sat down in between Kaoru and Misao. Kaoru was sitting next to a small mint green eyed child and Misao was sitting next to a pink eyed boy of who seemed to be extremely tired. Both boys only wore white yukata's. Yahiko was sitting across from him and glared at him menacingly but the boy acted as if he couldn't care less. Everyone ate as mindless conversation circulated around the table. Aoshi sat there, quiet as ever, sipping tea, Kai mimicking him and Kasoku, after a while, got full and crawled into Kaoru's lap muttering, "Oba-san"

Misao chattered happily and as always, Megumi and Sanosuke started bickering.

"Oi, stop staring at me." Kai cracked an eye open and fixed it on Yahiko.

Yahiko feigned ignorance and asked innocently, "Who me?"

"Noooooo, your ba-chan." Kai sneered.

"Maa, maa, calm down." Kenshin smiled.

"But Kenshin-" Yahiko started.

"Oh, stop it Yahiko-CHAN! If you hadn't been glaring at him he wouldn't have been rude to you!" Kaoru reprimanded

"Don't call me 'chan' BUSU!" Yahiko shouted.

"Don't call me 'busu' Yahiko-CHAN!"

"Don't call me CHAN!"

"Maa, maa, calm down." Kenshin tried once again but to no avail.

The sound of pummeling could be heard throughout the Aoi-ya. Kenshin saw the tired look in Kai's eyes and also noticed that Kasoku was sleeping now on Misao's lap. He got up and picked the little child from the omnitsu's lap. He then walked over to Kai and motioned him to come. The young teen did as suggested and came towards the ruroni who led him upstairs and into a spare bedroom.

"Domo Himura-san" Kai yawned and lay down, "Ayasumi."

"Ayasumi nasai." Kenshin whispered once he finished tucking Kasoku beneath the sheets of the little boy's futon.

* * *

Silvery mist swirled about the buildings eerily. The night had a cold bite in it and it seemed to chill one to the bone. The tall western mansions shown in stark contrast against the purple midnight sky. All lights had been turned off leaving an unnatural quiet surrounding the rich area of Kyoto. Two figures stood atop a building, both possessing identical smiles gracing identical pale features save the dark black hair and darker black eyes. There was no sound made by either just as no sound had escaped their victim. Someone would find the politician later, perhaps even by a few days considering his family was back in Tokyo where he would've been had he not been called down by Mibu's wolf. The two assassins grinned at the irony of it all. Call a man down to tell him about mysterious assassinations only to have him fall victim to it himself. Strange wasn't it. How easily life could be taken away.

* * *

Kaoru and Misao were out shopping the next day and had managed to drag Yahiko along. Why did they do that? 

"Why do I have to come BUSU!?" He shouted at his kendo instructor.

"Because, Yahiko-CHAN, Kai-san doesn't have any cloths and you're relatively the same size as him…a little smaller though."

"Stop calling me CHAN!"

"Then stop behaving like it!"

"Oi, why do I have to come? I hate shopping!" Misao snapped.

"Because you…grew a little more than I expected." Kaoru giggled.

Misao's face went bright red. Yes, her bust size had improved but what did she need to go shopping for. So her cloths were getting a bit tight around said area, it didn't bother her that much.

"We need to get you a kimono for the festival."

"What's the point?! Its not like Aoshi-sama wants to go with a stupid little girl like me!" Misao burst out into comical tears.

"You got that right." Yahiko laughed.

"Oooooo you! Shut up! Tobikunai!!" Misao flung her ammo at the boy managing to prick him a couple of time eliciting yelps from his general direction.

They walked through the town looking about at the stalls and found one that sold Kimono's. Kaoru and Misao looked around a bit but couldn't seem to find one they liked so they decided to drag Yahiko into a cloths shop. First they got a dark green hakama and a light green gi estimating the size for Kasoku who also didn't have any clothing.

"Once that girl wakes up I'm going to have a talk with her. She shouldn't have allowed the boys to walk around in one outfit as well as outfits that are that threadbare in the winter! It's too cold for that!"

"Yeah well 1000 yen says Megumi-san bites her head off about it first." Misao snorted.

Kaoru wasn't about to take up that bet knowing full well that the fox doctor would most likely yell at the girl for that. Who ever she was she was going to get it when she woke up.

"Now Yahiko put this on." Kaoru gave him some cloths.

"Iie!"

"NOW!!!" both girls shouted, flames erupting around them.

Yahiko darted into the dressing room quickly and then came back out dressed in a navy gi and black hakama. He looked really good in it so Kaoru and Misao offered to buy it for him as well as Kai but he refused. They bought a size bigger for the teen and went to pay. Yahiko on the other hand had different plans. He darted to the side, grabbed another gi and switched it with the one that Kaoru and Misao had bought, snickering evilly.

When they got back they walked to the back and saw Kenshin doing the laundry while watching Kai throw shuriken throwing stars at a few small circles he'd drawn on the tree.

THWACK

THWACK

THWACK

THWACK

They all landed in their own separate targets. Yahiko watched in close to amazement as Kai did this and then walked over to the tree and dug them out lazily. He didn't even seem to really care what he was doing, acting as if the training were just something to do rather then nothing.

"You're very good at that de gozaru. How long have you been training with those."

Kai shrugged and answered, "Two and a half months or something like that."

"Oro? Only two and a half months." Kenshin spoke wide eyed.

"When you're with Koumori-san it isn't 'only two and a half months' it's the two and a half months that you've managed to survive under her training."

"Oro? What does she have you do?"

"Walk upstream in rivers, track her or the kid, we scaled a cliff once because we got lost but that was actually kind of fun save when Soujiro-kun kind of slipped of one of the ledges and the bat had to catch him, of course her diving off that one cliff wasn't cool though. We learn that run thing from Soujiro-kun, calls it Shukuchi or something. I practice with these," He said holding up the star shaped knives, "And I try to hit targets with them but when we're on the move I try to hit Koumori-san. I didn't know the kid did it." He shrugged and sauntered back to the line he'd been throwing the stars from.

His white yukata clung to him loosely having been one of Aoshi's very old ones but still extremely large on the young teen. Watching him in this, Kaoru and Misao remembered why they had come outside.

"Kai-san! We got you some clothing." Kaoru called to him.

He turned to her and fixed her with a stare. She shifted uncomfortably beneath his pink gaze. Why did his eyes have to look so girlish but look so cold all at once? He walked over to her he furrowed his brows and asked, "Why'd you do that?"

"Well…you need cloths." Misao said sort of at a loss for words.

Kai reached in the bag Kaoru held out and pulled out…a bright pink gi.

"Gee, ya shouldn't have." Kai said with a cynical smile on his face.

"Wha? How?" both girls looked surprised.

Yahiko was laughing so hard he'd fallen on his back holding his stomach. Kai sighed and just shrugged, "Whatever, I don't really care what I wear as long as I've got something on."

Yahiko got to his feet and cackled mischievously, "Haha! What'er you going to do now?!" He stuck his tongue out at the teen.

"Well, I'm going to wear it, what else do you do with cloths?" Kai asked quirking an eyebrow.

"You're going to wear that?" Kaoru and Misao shouted simultaneously.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well, for one it's pink." Misao stated.

"Thank you Captain Obvious, but if you'll take a look at exhibit A over there," He turned and pointed at Kenshin, "You'll see a man wearing purple." Then he turned back, "You see, you could've done worse." He smiled brightly at them.

"Oro?"

"Don't you want us to go back and change it?" Kaoru asked.

"Iie, I didn't ask you to buy me cloths and now that you've done it I'm not goin' to go ask for you to do 'better', 'sides which it doesn't really matter to me." With that said he turned around and walked off to go get changed.

Kasoku came bumbling over, giggling out shouting "Oba-san!"

Kaoru and Misao both gave him the cloths and he ran away giggling.

"Strange kid." Kenshin murmured as he saw the child leave.

* * *

Everything was dark. I put my hands out in the darkness trying to feel my way around but I couldn't. I could see my arms but everything else was dark. Then I saw Rei-san. I ran forward as fast as I could as he sauntered away, I called out to him but no matter how fast I ran or how loud I cried out he wouldn't stop and I couldn't catch up. 

"Rei-san matte! Matte onegai!" I shouted.

I felt tears spring to my eyes and fall down my face. I touched it and I saw that the tears were not of water but of blood, blood from the two cuts at the side of my face. I stumbled backwards and bumped into someone. Spinning around I saw it was Shin-san. The tears began to flow freely down my face, I didn't try to stop them. How long it had been since I truly cried, since I actually recognized the feelings inside me, since I actually felt them.

"Shin-san, help!" I yelled at him but he just stared back at me coldly.

I looked at him, he reached out and caught me by the back of my gi, dragging me in the opposite direction as Rei-san.

"Iie!" I screamed at him but he wouldn't listen.

I saw Rei's tall form being cut down by a blade, his blood pouring through his gi, falling down with his eyes shut and a small smile on his face, his long black hair fluttering down after him. I turned back to the teenager dragging me away.

"Rei!" I screamed but he just lay there fading away.

"Iie!" I shouted, turned around and drew my sword crazed with pain and hatred.

I stabbed at Shin but instead of dodging he caught my sword but didn't try to stray it away from its target. I impaled him. My craze fell away from me and I realized what I'd done. No. this couldn't be happening. I saw Shin's amber eyes glint and he smiled softly at me, he then fell backwards blood flowing from his mouth. I backed away and felt someone grab me. Who ever it was it was the wrong move…and there last one. I turned around and slashed striking the figure down the chest. I saw Seta-san fall back smiling in his usual way, his hair flying about his face as he fell backwards.

"Iie!" I screamed and sobbed.

"SHIN-SAN! REI-SAN! SETA-SAN" I cried out.

I wanted to die. But I wasn't. I couldn't. Someone kill me, please, please, kill me.

* * *

Kenshin sat there staring at the water and suds his hands were soaked in. Something wasn't right, his stomach had just preformed an unsettling back flip and he'd sneezed not seconds before. Why did he feel so uneasy, Then he heard it. Heard what he'd been longing to hear for ten years even if he'd forgotten the sound. 

"SHIN-SAN! REI-SAN! SETA-SAN!"

He ran becoming less than a blur, past Okon and Omasu who shrieked. Almost crashed into Kai and Kasoku. He ran up the stairs past Sanosuke almost bowling him over. He sprinted past Aoshi, who'd come back to get his tea because a certain omnitsu had been becoming a bit more forgetful lately. He rushed past Kaoru's room none to quietly. He pretty much startled the whole Aoi-ya. He slammed through the doorway much to Megumi's objections. He sprinted forward and slid to his knees and picked up the girl holding her to his chest. She was struggling and whimpering against him but still he held her closely and whispered, "Stop it."

Soujiro sat up wide eyed, he'd been trying to scoot closer to the shouting girl. The girl ceased struggling just as everyone gather around the door wondering what was wrong with Kenshin. Everyone froze when they saw his eyes flickering from amber to amethyst. He pulled back a little and then tore off the girl's hat. Everyone sucked in their breath sharply.

"Han Imoto-chan."

Sitting there was a girl who looked just like Kenshin.

* * *

Okay I'd say nows a good time to stop. A few definitions: 

Omnitsu- a kind of ninja

Busu- Ugly

Matte- Wait

Onegai (shimasu)- please

Kusaki-plant

Kitsune-hime—fox princess

Koumori-san—Miss bat

Ayasumi (nasai)- good night

Aoi-ya—old blue

Han imoto-chan—little half sister

Review onegai!!!! I'd appreciate it very muchly so! (Chibi Ochita jumping up and down) bet you didn't see that one coming hee hee. I'll explain everything next chappie!


	13. Meetings

Gomen nasai, I forgot to make an important announcement**_ Ochita is not Okita Souji_** very muchly so. I can understand the mix up though.

I don't own anything, very muchly so.

**Meetings**

"How did he die?"

"Don' know but here 'e is, Takamori Saigo, bastard's dead as a doornail." Chou snorted giving the body a small nudge with his foot.

Saitou swatted Chou away and bent his knees outward so he could inspect the body a little more carefully. How did the man die? It didn't make any sense. There was blood on the wall but no blood on the man, not a hint that blood had been drawn from him. The cause of death was so unclear, it didn't add up. The police chief had called him down, had Saitou known a politician was coming down to Kyoto he would've set up security.

_Maybe…_

Saitou reached forward a white gloved hand and pulled down the color of Takamori's western shirt. There it was. A large irritated bruise. Takamori had gotten the garrote and he knew exactly who used a garrote. He growled inwardly. This whole situation was getting frustrating.

_The Shi no Tenshi uses a garrote sometimes._

If it had been the little bastard then why the hell was the Tenken's name written on the wall in blood.

_More importantly, whose blood?_

Saitou looked around for clues but there were none. He'd had enough of this. Last year Toshimitsu Okubo went, now his son, that brat, Toshimitus Okubo Setsuna comes around as soon as Saitou gets word of Seta. Then assassinations pop up with the Tenken's name written all over them…literally. Finally, another major politician dies. It was 3 in the morning, They'd come over to get the politician to come down. They couldn't figure out when he'd died either, he'd been staying here in his mansion a week prior to his appointment. Thankfully this news hadn't gotten out to the public.

"Time to clean up," He turned to his assistant, "Chou, you inform the family of their loss, I've got a shit-load of paperwork to fill out." The cop muttered.

"NANI!? Iie! Nooooo way-"

"I suggest you do as you're told or you'll be putting your organs back in your gut." The psycho cop threatened.

Chou walked away grumbling.

_What the fuck is going on?_

Saitou sighed, like he said, he had paperwork.

* * *

"Ochita-chan." Kenshin murmured.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the strange girl staring day-dreamily off into no where. Sano visibly shuddered at the look in her eyes. Her facial structure was the same as Kenshin's and her bangs were finer but still slightly shaggy, like the red headed man hugging her. When the girl spoke her voice was day-dreamy but not monotone. It had a strange sway as if she were speaking in a trance.

"I do not know who you are."

Tears welled in Kenshin's amber and amethyst eyes and he choked out, "Don't do this to me Ochita."

"I do not know this Ochita of whom you speak." The girl whispered.

"Ochita, Kayo Ochita, Himura Ochita."

"I do not know this person, very muchly so." As soon as the girl said this she seemed to freeze up.

Kenshin leaned back with an angry expression on his face. He surprised everyone by back handing the girl across the face. The girl turned her head but did nothing. She didn't hold her cheek and she didn't yelp or even look startled. She just stared in a daze to the side.

"Don't lie to me! I can see the scars on your face, I can see your hair, I can seen your eyes, I can see your expression, and 'very muchly so'? What do you take me for, an idiot!" and then he lifted the thin braids hanging down by her neck along with short layer of hair that had been cut to cover the back of her neck, "And if I ever need more proof of who you are, all I have to do is look at the back of your neck!"

There, scared into the back of the girl's neck was the kanji 'Unwanted'.

The girl looked down, she didn't seem to want to face Kenshin.

"You've known were I've been, all ten years you kept track of me didn't you?!" Kenshin raged at the girl, then he seemed to break down and his shoulders began to shake and he asked, "Why didn't you come to see me?"

The girl kept her head turned away and she asked him, "Don't you remember? 'I never want to see you again demon child, go back to hell where you belong'." She turned back to him and asked day-dreamily, "I assumed you didn't want me around and after what I did to you I really don't deserve to be around you, Shin-san."

Kenshin put his face in his hands and groaned, "I was upset Mochi-chan (nick name i'll explain later), I didn't want you following me so I tried to get my point across. I was an 18 year old mess. I'd of gotten over _that_after the course of one year. You should've known."

"I do not deserve to be around you Shin-san."

Kenshin hugged the girl again and in a small voice said, "Don't say that."

The girl looked down slightly at her half-brothers back. She then, rather timidly, laid her face down onto his shoulder. Her arms slowly curved up his back and gripped his shoulders from behind.

"Gomen nasai, Shin-san." She murmured quietly into his shoulder.

It lasted all two seconds until she tensed up and pulled back. She began to make a small hum in the back of her throat and searched around wildly whispering, "Seta-san, Seta-san."

Soujiro smiled, as always, "Ochita."

He then began to pull himself over to her and she dragged her self over to him much to Megumi's anger. Ochita fell down. Soujiro kept on dragging himself over to her even though Megumi tried to stop him. Once he got close enough to the red headed girl he lay down next to her then rolled over, slinging one arm across her shoulders and pulled himself closer to her. He buried his face into her neck and began to cry softly. He didn't make any noise, just let the tears flow freely down his porcelain cheeks. He inhaled, and Ochita's scent wafted up to great him. The intoxicating scent of white peaches and rain water comforted Soujiro and he sighed softly.

"I was so scared Ochita, I thought you were going to die." He whispered, his voice shaking slightly.

That's when he felt it again, more powerful than before.

Kai managed to stay on his feet but Kasoku was blown back into him knocking him over. Yahiko slammed back into Sano and Misao flew backwards and would've smashed into the ground had Aoshi not stopped her with his arm, of course she was going too fast and Aoshi lost his balance. He quickly got behind Misao and they both fell to the ground, the icy man guarding the weasel girl with his body. Kenshin shot up on his feet and grabbed Kaoru's hand, pulling her into him before she fell backwards. Megumi whacked into the wall two inches behind her.

Everyone heard the soft patter of rain hitting the rooftop and ground outside.

Tears spilled down Ochita's face too, but she didn't bat an eyelash at them. She leaned her head against Soujiro and whispered softly, "I…was…scared."

She then rolled on her side and wrapped her arm around his waist murmuring, "Very muchly so."

The former Tenken blushed, looked down at the girl and saw a small twitch come to her lips. He felt his own smile tug harder at his face. How strange, she was amused that she'd felt something. Her amusement always seemed to entertain Soujiro, her small actions to show that she felt something, not because they came naturally, she always had to try to show him how she felt so as not to leave him completely in the dark. He stared at her before pulling her closer to him.

_Since when do I initial hugs with people?_

Soujiro pondered this for awhile until the answer became obvious.

_Since Ochita._

He was so glad she was okay. So relieved, he felt so light as if a Zanbatou had just been taken off his shoulders.

Misao blinked a few times. It registered in her head that she'd landed on something instead of the ground. Something softer than the floor but still with a definite solidity and judging by the soft rise and fall of it beneath her she could tell it was someone. Her head was rattled and she just barely made out something beige to her right and left. The scent gave away who it was. Incense and green tea. Misao felt her face go bright red. She looked down and saw one arm wrapped around her hips and another right below her chest area. She tried to get up but Aoshi wouldn't let her go.

"Misao, get up with me, if you don't you'll be knocked down again." She felt the rumble of his chest behind her and blushed even further.

Funny, he felt so warm but his demeanor was always so icy. How on earth did he pull that off? Misao stayed still until Aoshi pushed her upwards with himself. When she got up she sort of leaned on him, his arm still wrapped around her waist. After a while she didn't feel the strange force anymore and she was sure Aoshi didn't feel it either, but he didn't let her go.

_Hell, I'm not going to complain._

Kaoru was being hugged by Kenshin until he pulled back and looked at her. His face was bright red and hers had a small tint on it. He sort of backed away shyly scratching the back of his head.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!!!" everyone heard Megumi's voice.

Kenshin turned around just to be pushed out the door.

"OUT! OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT!!!" The fox doctor shrieked.

Kenshin 'oro'ed as the door was slammed shut in front of him. He frowned. That was _his_ half sister in there. He spun around with a sour look on his face only to see everyone staring at him.

"Oro?"

"Don't oro us!" Kaoru snapped tapping her foot, "Since when do you have a sister?!"

"…." Kenshin smiled nervously.

"Man, how come you didn't tell us? And how come you're always freeloading off of Jou-chan if you have someone blood related to freeload off of?" Sano asked.

(everyone sweatdrops)

Kenshin sighed softly, "Because I though she was dead."

"Why would you think that?" Kai asked.

The former hitokiri looked down with a small smile, "I left her with Shishou-"

"YOU LEFT YOUR BABY SISTER WITH HIKO SEIJIRO XIII?!" Misao and Kaoru shouted at the auburn haired man.

"Oro? What's wrong with that?"

"You don't leave a child with that man!" Kaoru snapped at him.

"Oro? He raised me-"

"I think that's their point." Kai smirked.

Kenshin turned to the teen and frowned.

"I wasn't aware the Shi no Tenshi was that close to Kyoto." Aoshi spoke.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, "Sessha would be very pleased if you did not call her that, de gozaru yo."

"What the hell is a Shi no Tenshi?" Kai asked, "That's what they called her before they started shooting yesterday."

"That's really not important, de gozaru." Kenshin said, his eyes narrowing at Aoshi as if daring him to say something.

Thankfully the tall man didn't make a sound.

"So ka? If it's not important than why don't you tell me about it?" Kai smiled cynically.

"Because it's a long story, de gozaru." Kenshin answered.

"How convenient." Kai muttered teeth clenched, "Why should I give a shit anyway? It's Koumori-san, she'll always be okay. Don't care who she is or what she did, if she lives through everything anyway it shouldn't matter that I don't know her." His shoulders sagged slightly, "She'll always be Koumori-san to me anyhow."

Then he spun around and snarled, "I'm gonna go see her. She's my sensei!"

"Hold it." Sano caught him by his bright pink yukata before he could go any further.

"Let go of me you damn rooster head!"

"Iie. Kitsune will really bite your head off if you go anywhere near her."

"Just because Koumori's conscious doesn't mean she's okay. She got shot in an artery. If she's not…" Kai growled and turned away from Sano.

"As to how she lived through that or why the pressure in the artery was low enough to heal, or how it stopped bleeding on its own and healed, I'm still curious." Megumi said as she opened the shouji before sliding it shut giving both Kenshin and Kai a 'go anywhere near this door and I'll kill you' look.

"Self hypnotism." Kenshin answered.

"Nani?" Megumi asked.

"It's a bit like Jin-e's shi-no-ipo. Ochi-chan told me about it to keep me safe unless I ever got injured but I can't perform it. Basically you picture a san (three) on the injury, then you connect the top and the bottom closing together, the blood will slow, if not, stop completely." The red head explained, "It is based entirely on the power of the subconscious."

"That's incredible." Misao breathed out.

"Che. You should see her run on air." Kai rolled his eyes.

"Run on what?" Sanosuke blurted out giving Kenshin a 'huh?' look.

"Heh…that is sort of hard to explain and at the present moment I have work to take care of. Like finding out how…" Kenshin trailed off.

"Don't tell me you actually believed _that_." Aoshi snorted.

Kenshin frowned and coughed a bit, "I…didn't know what to think when I saw her obituary."

"Wait a minute; your sister let you believe she was dead?" Sanosuke shouted.

"Hai." Kenshin whispered.

"Okay that's just cruel." The ex fighter for hire was seconds away from marching into that door despite Megumi's orders and giving the girl a piece of his mind.

"After what happened…and after what I said…I gave her…well I…" Kenshin was choking on his words.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked softly.

He sort of calmed down and wore such a stony mask that not a hint of emotion broke through to the surface, "I gave her the impression that I didn't care whether she lived or died."

Everyone backed up a little and stared at him, all a bit stunned by the strange and sort of morbid statement.

Misao of course was the only one who had the gall to ask…

"Why?"

Kenshin turned around and stared at her, his face void of expression. Quietly he stated, "She blamed herself for a mistake she repeated twice. I used it against her so that she wouldn't follow me once the bakafu ended, I didn't think it a good idea for her to come along for the sake of her weak emotional state, and my own sanity, that I did. I'm afraid she took my words to heart."

Aoshi stared at Kenshin and, not letting anyone else see, motioned first to Kenshin, then to the side of his own stomach. The ex-hitokiri nodded slightly. He then sighed and gave everyone a gentle ruroni smile, "She tried to help me forget her despite the fact that I did in no way wish to, de gozaru yo. She is an extremely wonderful person and I am sure she will…anou…well…"

"What?" Megumi asked bluntly, noting the nervous expression on the ruroni's face.

"She…anou…is kind of…"

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'strange'." Aoshi stated monotonously.

Kenshin laughed softly and scratched the back of his head, "She is just…different."

Aoshi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"Now, now, you don't have to use such a variety of words to describe Koumori-san, when one word pretty much sums her up." Kai put on a wicked grin.

"And what would that be?" Sanosuke asked dully.

"Creepy."

Sanosuke turned to Kenshin…-.-;. and then to Aoshi who just nodded his head up and down in approval.

"Hai." Kenshin sighed dejectedly, letting everyone know exactly what his sister was really like.

"Like how?" Misao asked quizzically.

"You'll see." Aoshi replied stoically.

"I think I will go do the laundry, de gozaru." The auburn haired man muttered as he walked away from his crowd of friends.

* * *

_"We have your sister."_

_"Imoto-chan?"_

_"The Shi no Tenshi will die if you don't comply."_

_"Don't hurt her!"_

_"We won't…if you do as you're told."_

_"What the fuck do you want?"_

_"You will become part of the Shinsen-gumi under my command."_

_"Not a chance in hell!"_

_"Then she dies. Your decision."_

_"Iie!"_

_"Then become one of us."_

_"…I…but…Wait, how do I know you have her?"_

_"We do, but were not going to let you see her if that's what your asking for. Even if we didn't, would you really take that chance?"_

_"BASTARD! She's frikken 8 years old!"_

_"You didn't really seem to care about that when you let her kill."_

_"I have no right to tell her what to do, I wasn't there when she needed me, and I don't have authority over her!"_

_"It doesn't matter, if you don't fight and if you attempt suicide we will kill her."_

_"…"_

_"Hm, hm, decisions, decisions. Traitor to allies or traitor to blood."_

_"…Family over friends and self…blood runs thicker than water."_

_"Good."_

* * *

Namotaru grinned wickedly, looking down at the sight before him. Ichi and Ni were staring at him emotionlessly. Setsuna stood at the door.

"Don't you enjoy irony?"

"…"

"Ichi, go assemble our team."

For the first time Ichi spoke back to his master, "Give San back."

"I'm afraid I can't."

Ni's hand spazzed as he stopped himself from pulling his sword out. His anger rose but it didn't show on his ghost like face. He physically felt the strain it was taking to hold himself back from killing the man. Feeling his younger brother's rage, Ichi lifted his arm out in front of Ni to still him lest he do something rash. Both young men turned about and began to walk out the door, simultaneously; a tear trickled down both left cheeks. Ni looked down at his feet as he walked and whispered to his brother,

"It is an antidote to poison that we lack."

* * *

Kai shut his eyes, preparing for another nap in the sakura tree, content with the fact that his teacher had awoken just yesterday. Despite the fact it being 11 in the morning the young teen decided a nice snooze would do him good. Just as he started to doze off he heard an annoying voice say, "Lets spar."

"Leave me alone."

"Why, you chicken?"

Kai cracked a sapphire pink eye open and snorted, "Look, bakayarou, I don't want to fight, I'm not a samurai, hell I'm the bastard son of a fisherman or so I hear. I only train so that when the opportunity arises I'll be useful. I've been training everyday all day for 2 and a-half months. Now I'll tell you one last time to go away."

"Or you'll what?"

"…"

Yahiko was getting annoyed with Kai's passive attitude and decided that he could attack him. So he creped up to him slowly then lunged for a down-strike. Yahiko was flat on his back before he knew it, with his own bokken pointed at his throat. Kai had caught his bokken, smacked the middle of it sending the part in Yahiko's hands towards him, catching the handle and batting the younger boy out of the air, leaping down and holding the bamboo weapon to his neck. Kai slammed the bokken into the ground right next to Yahiko's head. He then grabbed Yahiko by the front of his yukata and growled, "I gave you your hint not to fuck with me today but you wouldn't listen so now I think I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"

The younger boy stumbled backwards and grabbed his bokken as Kai took his shinai off his back and got into a relaxed position tapping his foot on the ground, lightly hopping up and down. Yahiko quirked an eyebrow, "What the hell is that?"

"Shukuchi, ahou." With that said, the youngest boy saw a blur before slamming into the ground.

_Shit he's fast._

Yahiko got to his feet, no matter how much it pained him and turned around to see Kai glaring at him. He began tapping his foot, but this time, a little bit faster. Yahiko barely managed to get his bokken up to block the shinai that would've cracked his head if he hadn't. He stumbled backwards being put completely on the defensive, blocking as dodging was out of the question. Kai zipped around quickly and loudly as he proceeded to attack Yahiko relentlessly.

Fortunately for Yahiko a certain violet eyed ruroni happened to hear the noise and walked around the side of the Aoi-ya to see where the sounds came from. Kenshin's eyes widened as he took in the view of a very pissed Kai attacking his friend. The auburn haired man's eyes really widened when he saw what looked to be around 18 down from shukuchi being used on Yahiko. He immediately ran into the battle to calm the two down but to his surprise Yahiko jumped out from behind him and tried to attack Kai. The pink eyed boy evaded easily then turned once again to the offence. Kenshin sighed and then pulled out his sakabatou. He'd stop this somehow.

"Ryu Dou Sen." Rocks were sprayed everywhere as a trench was formed, heading in Kai's direction.

The teen leapt back and then stared at the trench with great interest, completely ignoring Yahiko who was currently cursing at him with every swear word under the sun. The pink eyed boy then looked back at Kenshin and smiled, "Oi, do that again."

o.0;

"Iie."

"What did you call it?" Kai persisted with questions.

"Ryu dou sen, you should stop fighting de goz-"

Kenshin was cut off when Kai smiled and repeated the same action he had just moments before whispering, "Ryu dou sen."

His attack was in no way as powerful as Kenshin's but it was an exact replica of the technique. The ex-hitokiri stood there wide eyed and decided that fighting in front of Kai was a bad idea. The kid seemed to have a photographic memory. No wonder he was so skilled after 2 and a-half months of training. He could do it himself after only being shown once and had the initiative to train without being told, or hounded in the case of Yahiko and Kaoru.

Speaking of Yahiko he stood there stock still with what he'd just seen.

"How the hell did you do that?!" He shouted angrily.

"I did what he did. Why are you so angry?" Kai then pointed to Kenshin and stated accusingly, "He started it."

-.-;

"Both of you two stop fighting onegai shimasu." Kenshin pleaded.

"No problem, I didn't want to in the first place." Kai shrugged and climbed back into the sakura tree.

"What do you mean? You were being very aggressive a few moments ago." Kenshin pointed out.

"So? He wanted a fight and wouldn't leave me alone without one, so I decided I might make it somewhat interesting for myself, and see what he could do for a while. I could've konked him out easy but I didn't feel like it." Kai yawned as he shut his eyes and stretched.

Kenshin turned back to Yahiko who had a sour look on his face.

"Tattle tale."

"Wha? I didn't tattle, why would you get in trouble for nothing?" Kai asked sitting up confused.

"You two should not have been fighting without supervision at least, de gozaru yo." Kenshin shook his head.

"Why not?" Kai asked even more confused now.

"You could get hurt de gozaru." Kenshin laughed as if it were obvious.

"So, who cares, getting hurt is a part of life, get over it." Kai shrugged before leaning back again.

Both Kenshin and Yahiko blinked at that.

"You know he has a point." Yahiko said thoughtfully to the ex-hitokiri.

Kenshin couldn't believe he was about to start a conversation on philosophy with a fourteen year old but he'd do it anyway, if not for getting a point across, then for his own dignity's sake.

"You should avoid getting hurt at all costs de gozaru. It would be rather stupid to get hurt for no reason."

"There is always a reason when you get hurt, whether it's you being clumsy or someone being a jackass to you. You know that, like 'cause and effect'. My mom once told me that we learn from getting hurt. If we all avoided it, and never got hurt, we'd have a world full of idiots." Kai snorted, eyes shut, not even facing Kenshin's direction.

"That's kind of like the saying 'the only way we ever learn is through first hand experience'." Yahiko pointed out.

"Uh huh." Kai yawned.

Kenshin couldn't believe this. Every time the kid had something to counter his ideals with and every time they usually made a hell of a lot more sense. This was getting irritating. His eyebrow twitched and he spoke, "Megumi-dono would tear you apart if you got hurt, de gozaru."

"Yeah, Kenshin's got the bigger point here!" Yahiko shouted.

"Oro." The ex-hitokiri said rather dejectedly.

* * *

Soujiro's POV

I woke up with a large headache and my head swam dizzily. I tried to clear my mind from the odd feeling, to describe it I would call it the worlds worst hangover. I felt like something was missing and when I looked down I saw I wore a sleeping yukata. The heat rushed to my face when I realized that I hadn't put it on myself. I sat up in the futon I was currently settled in, and looked around the room. I spotted Ochita and got up, tottering over to her, and knelt down beside her. I stared at her sleeping face, as expressionless as it was when she was awake, and moved to bush her hair away, out of her eyes. I then moved his hand down her cheek, marveling at the feel. I realized what I was doing and snapped my hand back as if I'd been burned.

What the hell did I think I was doing? I Seriously didn't…right? The picture on how I felt when it came to Ochita was getting so big that I didn't know how to look at it or even where to start. Now I was…I don't even know what I'm doing. This wasn't like…not…Shishio-san and…Yumi-san? I remember how that turned out and I spun away. There was now no way in hell. Who said I felt that way anyway? I am emotionless remember…right? I don't know anything anymore. It doesn't matter, she's Himura-san's sister and I tried to kill him. That's just boarder-line…suicidal.

I peeked over my shoulder and looked at her.

0o;

"Anou…Ohayo gozaimasu, Ochita." My smile became strained.

Her face was not even two inches away from mine and she was staring at me day-dreamily. I felt heat come to my face and turned away quickly.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Seta-san. O genki desu?" She said quietly.

I hated that. Why 'Seta-san'? It's like she's talking to an authoritative figure instead of me. I can't really say anything though. My stomach falls out of its place as I think that maybe it's a way to distance herself from me. I don't want to be a distant stranger to her. I don't know what I want to be to her but just not that.

"Genki. Daijobu?"

"Aa. I am fine very muchly so."

I turn around and she is leaning back on her heels, gazing in my direction but not quite at me like always. I turned fully around and leaned on the back of my heels before taking her hand in mine and helping her stand up. I saw the shackle on her wrist and I asked softly, "What's this?"

"A shackle." She said.

I turned it over and saw engravings on it:

**Shi no Tenshi accusation-insanity**

**Ochita** **sentence-until death**

Shi no Tenshi? I thought they were screwing with my head when they shouted that out the other day. I remember Shishio-san telling me stories about the supposed, insane angle that was condemned to walk the earth with the hated humans of, which he killed and still did, hiding up in Aomori and killing anyone that dared stepped onto his land. It had given me nightmares.

"Ochita..." I started but didn't finish.

I didn't know what kind of subject I'd touch and I wasn't in the mood for a spar with real swords. We found our cloths folded nicely and sitting in the right corner of the room. We each turned our heads away as we got dressed and found our weapons on the other side of the room. Getting them and setting them in their rightful places, at our sides, or in Ochita's case, on her back as well, we turned to each other prepared to leave.

I threaded my fingers through hers, it just felt nice, and I walked out the shouji, onto the enigwa. I sat down on the edge and Ochita sat beside me. Kasoku found us, strangely enough, and he toddled over happily, shouting incomprehensible things. Why hadn't the boy learned to speak? He sat down it her lap and hugged her tightly; Ochita put her arms around him lightly, to make sure he didn't slip off her lap. I turned to her and spoke, "Ochita, we need to go downstairs and let everyone know we're awake."

"Aa." She nodded and got up letting Kasoku slide off her lap and waddled behind her.

We both walked over and down the stairs where we entered a restaurant. Two women spotted us and squealed, running over and grabbing out hands, dragging us into the kitchen. They then told us to wait so we did…for a long time. Ochita saw that the food was burning and came over, picking it up and letting the fried vegetables slide onto a plate. Someone was calling for there food so she gave the plate to me and told me to give it to them, after taking off my sword. I ran outside and, smiling in my regular way said, "Sorry for the delay, we had to switch shifts for a while."

"Oh, sumimasen, I didn't know."

"Oh, that's all right." I chirped.

I heard something off to the side and I saw Ochita, taking an order, all her weapons gone except for the bladed rings which no one would recognize as dangerous. It was very strange to see her converse with a few men of who looked to be friends. She was polite and didn't say what she didn't need to. She had absolutely no idea that the men were flirting with her and it almost made me cringe. Even I wasn't that dense. She then walked back to the kitchen and began to cook. I didn't know she could cook like that. I came back after taking orders and watched her. She had a small twitch on her lips as she worked, enjoying making the dish look pretty. I helped her a little and we both carried out food. I couldn't believe I was playing the part of a waiter, but it was actually…fun.

To have a normal life like this…it was nice. I could get used to doing this, never wondering when my next meal would come, having a place to stay. I slightly wondered where those girls were as I watched Ochita leave the kitchen, her strange toe to heel walk making her look as if she glided. I stayed at the stove, watching something Ochita had put in cook. I then saw the side door open and it seemed all the residents at the Aoi-ya, filed in.

"Soujiro-kun your alive!" Kai shouted throwing his hands in the air.

"Ohayo Kai-san." I smiled.

"Souj-" Himura-san was cut off by the sound of a crashing plate.

We all ran in, Himura-san strangely in the lead, stopping us when we barely got into the main eating room. Ochita was standing there with her normal zoned out look on her face, but four men were fighting about, what else, the government. They were all slightly drunk and one shouted, "We need to try democrashy, it'd give the people more shay in what goesh on in Japan!"

"Iie. There are shtill many corrupt people in thish country. Thoshe who can't get rid of the old idealsh, why shooould we let them have a shay in the government?!" The other countered, obviously as drunk as the first.

Everyone watched as all four man broke out into and incomprehensible, slurred, argument that was becoming violent. The people it the restaurant were all terrified as one man began to pull out a sword. Himura-san stopped me from moving forward, giving me a look that said 'don't get involved'. He then turned back and everyone watched as Ochita whispered, "You are being foolish, very muchly so."

"Did she just say 'very muchly so'?" I heard the brown eyed kid beside me ask.

No one answered and he began to panic, "Kenshin do something, your sister is going to get skewered!"

Both he and I began choking, trying desperately to hold in our laughter.

"Get outta the waysh little girlyyyy." The man shouted after Ochita got between both of them.

"I truly do not think that I should. Before you try to clean up the government's act maybe you should take a look at yourselves, very muchly so." Ochita whispered.

(A/N: Sound familiar? It's what Kenshin said when you first see Sano, talking to the men in the restaurant.)

"Wha? Your goonna regret you shaid that brat!" The man shouted and tried to impale her.

Quicker than the eye could track the ringed blades were draw and used, Ochita ducking to the side slightly so now the sword was inches from the side of her head. Despite the dangerous looking position she didn't flinch and sheathed her weapons calmly.

"Oopsh, I misshed." The drunkard giggled before trying to move his sword down.

Unfortunately for him the tip of the sword stayed in place and the hilt of his sword moved down, not long enough to hit its intended target. As the end piece of the katana fell Ochita caught it in her long fingered hand. The man was staring at the broken end of his sword that he held in disbelief. Ochita held the end of the katana, pointing it at her offender.

"If you would be so kind as to leave sir, the door is right over there." Ochita pointed with her other hand towards the door.

All of the men looked at her and one of the more sober stated, "Let's get outta here."

All of them went for the door quickly, afraid they'd upset someone that had the potential to kill them. Everyone had witnessed this and the girl was about to say something but they all clapped. Himura-san walked forward and clapped a hand on her shoulder, smiling brightly, "Good job, your skill hasn't diminished."

Ochita's lips twitched upward and she tossed the end of the sword back, Himura-san thankfully clapping his hands on it as it fell, "I suppose that's more that I can say for you."

The ex-hitokiri ignored the insult and frowned saying, "Ochita, throwing knives is dangerous, de gozaru."

She turned around and stared day-dreamily at him. Her eyes stared off into nothingness and I saw many of the people behind me shudder. A small curve came to her lips once again and she murmured, "Gomen nasai, I forgot, you have a certain dislike for all pointy objects, very muchly so."

Himura-san put on a very sour face and he snorted, "You're not sorry at all, de gozaru."

Ochita's make-shift-grin became a bit wider but no more resembled an actual grin than my smile did, as she spoke in a zoned out tone, "You're right, very muchly so."

The auburn haired man's sour face turned slowly into a barely suppressed smile. He laughed softly and he spoke, "You really haven't changed, de gozaru."

Ochita still had on her strange expression, "Once again, more than I can say for you…or less if you think about it, very muchly so."

Himura-san was still smiling as he asked, "Ochi-chan, are you hungry?"

I could've sworn Shinomori-san gave Himura-san an 'are you an idiot?' look but I must've been seeing things. Ochita just turned her head to the side curiously. I tried hard not to sigh loudly as I realized that the girl never really knew the answer to that question. Himura-san seemed to remember and he spoke, "Never mind, seesha will make you something to eat, de gozaru yo."

He then turned to me and asked, "Soujiro-san, would you like to help me?"

I knew what that meant. It was an 'I want to talk to you' invitation. I just nodded happily, noting that Sagara-san was glaring knives at me. Shinomori-san didn't look as upset seeing me as I thought he would. Perhaps he didn't hold a grudge, I shouldn't really feel surprised, even if he did I suppose he wouldn't show it…openly at least.

I bowed to everyone before leaving and following Himura-san into the kitchen. He could cook…not really as well as Ochita but he seemed to not really care that much about what he was doing…almost like he was taking someone else's place…someone he didn't want cooking (A/N how very observant you are Soujiro-kun. He has deduced that Kenshin doesn't want a certain psycho tanuki in the kitchen, very muchly so.).

The silence seemed to almost stretch on forever before Himura-san asked, "O genki desu?"

"Genki. You?" I asked.

"Genki." He replied happily.

Another silence before he asked almost sheepishly, "Soujiro-san…I don't mean to be…prying or anything but…anou…Himura Ochita…she isn't…anou…Seta Ochita now is she?"

"ARA?!"

Womp!!!

I hit the ground hard and lay there dizzily (A/N Swirly eyed Sou-chan!). Kami-sama he couldn't be serious! I stared up at him, smile still stuck on my face, but now I was clutching my aching head. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and I got up saying, "Iie. What makes you think that?"

"Anou…the little boy, he calls you otou and her oka."

"That is all Kasoku can say." I sighed, thoroughly worn out by my face plant.

"Aa. I was just making sure." Himura-san beamed at me.

I didn't know why I asked but I did, almost regretting it but still it solved my curiosity, "Would you be upset if that were the case?"

He heard my whispered words and his eyes widened somewhat, but just barely. He turned to the food and sort of thought it over before laughing, "Iie."

That really surprised me before he turned and asked, "Is it?"

I stared back at him for a moment before turning to the food I was cooking, smiling, "Iie, I was just curious."

His question still resonated through my head though.

_Is it? Is that the way you feel or is your head just playing tricks on you? More than once you've looked at her that way and more than once you've wanted to know that she might feel that way for you. You don't deserve her though, you don't deserve anyone. Not her- especially not her. It doesn't matter that's not the case. But why does that lead me back to my first question… ' is it'? _

I shook such thoughts from my head, it was stupid to ponder 'what if's and 'maybe's. I didn't feel anything. I tried to convince myself that it was just because she was interesting, showed me I was still considered human, showed me that my emotions weren't as far from the surface as I thought, made me think of things in a different light, gave me hope, was beautiful, cared…but that was the reason wasn't it. These reasons weren't just something I could stick the name 'excuse' on and leave behind in my thoughts.

And if it weren't the case than why did I want to see her smile at me…for me…only me.

I felt frustration burn inside me but my content smothered it out, once again leaving me emotionless to the world. My neutrality towards the world was in danger of becoming unbalanced and in my head I knew there were flaws in it already. I wanted to know things about her and I was now standing next to most likely the only person I could find out from, but something held me back.

_If I ask, he'll think I care that way…and I don't._

I tried convincing myself of this. Funny, two months ago that might've worked but now the thought didn't seem to stick as well as it once had. It managed to lose all cohesion in my mind and merely slid away, replaced by a general unknowing that disturbed me. I was desperate to cover it up, desperate to at least place some thought there in its stead.

"Your food is going to burn Soujiro-san." Himura-san stated, jarring me from my thoughts.

I looked down at the rice and took it quickly off the stove. I was getting lost in my head again and I knew it wasn't a good idea…especially if I didn't watch what I was doing and accidentally gave someone food poisoning. I vaguely remembered seeing Chou vomit after eating something I'd cooked while talking to him. But that might've been because I was explaining how I'd killed the last man on another job I'd been sent on.

I dished out food and put it on a tray, getting ready to carry it upstairs. Himura-san was staring at me with a strange smile on his face…like he knew something I didn't. How irritating. We both carried the food upstairs, to my surprise Himura-san almost dropped quite a few things…but so did I. We made it up the stairs without any mishaps along the way, and entered the room where everyone sat around the table, many of them speaking to Ochita. I was putting food down when I saw Makimachi-sa…ma (A/N he stopped to think about the suffix because Misao is now the Okashira, very muchly so), when I heard her whisper to the girl beside her that I assumed to be Kamiya-san, "Is she even listening?"

I almost laughed but turned and saw Ochita clap her hands over her ears. Everyone turned to look at her and Himura-san frowned.

"If anyone is whispering, or rasping, please don't. She can hear you and to her ears it sounds like an off pitch scream, de gozaru."

New information.

I saw Makimachi-san blush and squeak, "Gomen nasai."

"It is alright Makimachi-sama, very muchly so." Ochita spoke back quietly.

"Ah, so you have met everyone then?" Himura-san beamed at his sister.

"Actually, she all knew our names." Kaoru giggled.

"Not mine busu!" the brown eyed boy cackled, he hadn't spoken up until now.

"Aa. I do Myojin Yahiko."

The young boy jumped away from the table. Then he pulled out his bokken and asked, "I haven't met you, how do you know my name?"

Ochita's lips twitched and she murmured, "Because I am a telepath."

I almost laughed when the boy yelped and ducked behind Sagara-san. The ex-fighter-for-hire pulled the kid out from behind him and snorted, "She's kidding, brat."

"Then how does she know my name?!" He shouted.

"Can I explain?" Sagara-san asked dully as he stared at the kid.

Ochita shrugged her shoulders and spoke, "I don't mind, very muchly so."

"Explain what?" Kai asked, now interested.

"Tha-"

"Perhaps not at the table." Himura-san spoke up sitting down next to his sister and quietly murmuring something in her ear.

I sat down next to Kai and Kamiya-san, looking at the two siblings with interest. Ochita was now whispering something in his ear and his eyes widened slowly before he frowned and shook his head. He stared at her for a while and she gave him her famous off-in-a-daze look. He then looked down towards his tea, staring at it in a manner that made me think he felt alone.

"I think that the table is a perfect place to explain things." Kai snorted.

"Ya well, Kenshi-" Sagara-san was about to start but Himura-san cut him off, "Say what you want Sano, its just that I don't recommend it when we're all here eating."

"Are you sure, you don't sound that happy about it." Sagara-san asked eyeing Himura-san strangely.

The auburn haired man replied beaming, "Iie, its fine. I'm just being silly, de gozaru yo."

"…Okay." Sagara-san said skeptically before continuing with his explanation, "Ochita-chan's not one to let things slide by without noticing, especially if it happens to be something, or someone she cares about."

Himura-san's lips twitched upwards at the justification his friend had given. Kai-san on the other hand interjected, "Why?"

"Cuz that's the way she is." Sagara-san snapped back.

"Koumori-san, you got anything to add?" Kai asked, his eyes glinting as they fell upon his sensei.

"What is it you want me to say?" Ochita asked quietly.

"I think he's asking if you're someone other than that." Yahiko grinned before making a face and baring pretend claws, "Like a traveling bandit."

I almost choked on my food and Kai clapped me on the back none too gently. I stared at Ochita searching for something. Just a twitch on her lips and nothing else. To my surprise I saw Shinomori-san pounding on his chest, choking on the food. Makimachi-san began clapping on his back asking, "Aoshi-sama, daijobu?"

Shinimori-san replied after regaining his composure, "Hai."

Okina-san began laughing at Yahiko which asked, "Nani?"

"Nanemo." He chuckled.

"Oi, when you fought back there you were really good. Were you taught by Hiko Seijiro XIII too? Wow, are you really as good as Himura?"

It was Himura-san's turn to start choking after Makimachi-san asked. Ochita's lips twitched upwards at that even more.

"Iie." She replied softly.

"Who were you taught by?" Yahiko-san asked.

I wondered if Ochita could just give information away like that. I was very curious myself, who could possibly be good enough to train someone like her? And for how long?

"Sei-ya." Ochita spoke.

"Huh?" Makimachi-san asked.

"His name is Sei. He is very old" Shinomori-san stated.

"Oh…but, what is he?" She asked before continuing, "And what were those things you were using?"

"Reh?" Ochita asked not really getting the first part.

Himura-san found no harm in explaining so he did, "He is a shinobi Misao-dono. That weapon was called Tenshi ha (angel blade)."

"Whoa, you're a ninja?" Makimachi-san asked, excitedly.

I looked at Ochita and she stared at me…or in my general direction. I wonder if she was a ninja?

"Among other things." Ochita said in her zoned out state.

"Wait a minute, you called him 'Sei-ya' does that mean he is like…Himura and yourjiji-san(grandfather) or something."

Kenshin began to choke on his food loudly until he burst out laughing. I saw his head tilt back and he began holding his stomach, his whole frame shaking.

"Nani?" Makimachi-san asked.

"Sei-ya is a little too old to be my great-grandfather Misao-dono."

I looked to Shinimori-san, his eyes actually shown with amusement before he said quietly, "He's also too tall."

"Oro?" Himura-san asked indignantly.

I just kept smiling, wondering who this 'Sei-ya' really was. I'd never heard of him before, not even from Shishio-san.

"Oi, do you use that sword?" Yahiko-san asked.

"Aa." Ochita replied, day-dreamily.

"You wanna spar with me later?" Yahiko-san asked exitedly.

"If you're sparring with him you're gonna teach me something new. I've been sitting around for two days, bored out of my mind." Kai snorted.

Ochita tilted her head to the side to ponder this thought before turning to Himura-san and asking, "May I?"

All of a sudden something happened to Himura-san. Something very strange.

* * *

Kenshin's POV

-Sessha said no, de gozaru yo!-

_and I am going to listen, why?_

-Leave sessha alone!-

_Iie. I want out! That punk isn't going to spar with her first. I am!_

-That's all you ever think about when it comes to her.-

_Iie. We are one and the same there fore she is my imoto-chan too!_

-Sessha doesn't want you causing an up-stir!-

_Liar! If I know you, and I do considering I am you, I know you have a double motive for not letting me see her._

-You have just as good a view from your perspective as sessha does from his.-

_Damnit what's your problem?! I wanna talk to her!_

-Oh shut up!-

Now that surprised Battousai.

-Sessha doesn't really care how you try do defend yourself from this accusation or if you'll even understand what he's trying to say at all but when you come out _she_ comes out and I really don't want everyone's first impression of my sister to be that of…-

_Say it, a cold blooded killer. She's killed over twice the people Seta and I have combined. You think they won't notice after a while?_

Kenshin stopped fighting Battousai knowing full well that there was nothing he could say to his last comment.

_Let me out for a little while, I'll hint I want to spar and maybe after a while I'll let you have control again. Then you can relieve that yokai kodomo inside her that you didn't mean what you said._

-Sessha didn't say it.-

Now it was Battousai's turn to be silent.

_So?_

Kenshin thought it over, wondering if this was a good idea or not. His alter-ego's ideas really weren't so great. He felt a little strange. It wasn't so much that he was talking to himself within his own mind but that he had a shoulder angel and devil inside his head. It was the same thing everyone had. A conscious versus temptation. The only difference was that his were so opposite that they seemed to become two different voices in his head.

-if you are going to do this don't hurt anyone. And don't do this right away. I'll give you free reign for a while but leave if you think you should.-

_Like I could hurt yokai kodomo. _

So with that Kenshin let go.

* * *

Yahiko's POV

Kenshin was looking down for a while, his hair was shading his eyes which made me feel a little uneasy. All of a sudden he stood up and clicked his sword opened with his thumb, tapping his little sister with his foot lightly, before clicking the sakabatou back shut. He then walked around and out the door to the back yard.

"Oi, Kenshin, where are you going?" I called to him.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked.

"Elsewhere." Kenshin spoke coldly back.

I froze. That voice, he'd used it before and it was not under good circumstances. I turned back and saw Kenshin's sister's lips twitch upwards. I had to admit it, I agreed with Kai. She is reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllly creepy. She looked at everyone with those **HUGE** moony eyes and her hair looked like a deep puddle of blood. I'd seen her teeth while she was eating and she had fangs. I was now convinced she was a demon. Maybe that means Kenshin's a hanyo or something. But she didn't turn her head up that often, trying to hide her eyes, and I couldn't see her very well.

"Sai-san, when?"

"After you're done with your first invitation." He replied icily.

Did she just call him Sai-san? What the hell does she mean by that?

"Ochita, I thought you usually called Himura-san, 'Shin-san'." Soujiro questioned, the dumb guy still had a smile plastered to his face.

"I only call him Shin-san when he is acting like Shin-san. I call him Sai-san when he is acting like Sai-san, very muchly so." She replied quietly.

I wonder if she spoke to loud if she wouldn't be able to hear herself or something. And what did she mean, acting like Shin-san. What was she talking about?

"Perhaps I should go down and wash the dishes, very muchly so."

Why the hell does she say that? Wait a minute…

"Oi, no you don't. You can't get out of your spar with me that easy. Com'on let's go." I called to her.

She turned down to that little kid in her arms and asked softly, "Kasoku, may I borrow your shinai, onegai shimasu?"

"Oka!" The boy shouted giggling.

The kid was kinda weird, he had this strange obsession with flowers or just anything that grows out of the ground. He whipped his weapon of his back and tried to bring it down on the table. To my surprise he did it veeerrrry fast. Ochita managed to catch it inches from the furniture though. He let go, looking up at her happily.

"Domo." She said quietly, standing up soon after and following out the door with me, putting her hat up as she went, Kai not far behind.

This girl, I'd seen she was fast but did she have anything else? She wasn't that much taller than me. How harmful could she be with a shinai. She's Kai's teacher, but he also learns from Soujiro.

I got into a ready position, she didn't really look like she was paying much attention to me.

"Oi, Ochita-s…kun, I'm going to start now." I switched suffixes.

Honorable 'fallen' isn't exactly an intelligent thing to say and Sano just calls her 'chan' but she's like what, a year younger than the itachi, so I can't call her that. She turned her head to me and her lips twitched upwards. For some reason the way she looked at me made my hair stand on end, despite the fact that I couldn't see her eyes.

"You shouldn't tell me when you are going to attack, Myojin-san. It loses the surprise effect, very muchly so."

Okkkkkaaaaay, whatever.

I ran up to her and came down hard, aiming for her head. She blocked me easily and sidestepped, tilting her shinai down so that I lost balance and slide down into her striking range. I was whacked, but not very hard. Heh, she thought she could go easy on me. I'll show that little girl. I put on a series of attacks but she blocked all of them, only moving one foot every single time. I couldn't even back her up.

"You're not very offensive are you?" I snorted.

"Anou…there isn't really any reason to be." She said to me.

I shouted and tried to hit her hard but she blocked again, and it didn't look to me like she was even trying. I bet she thought this was funny. This wasn't really a fight it was more like a useless onslaught on my part.

"Why don't you at least try?" I shouted at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Be a little offensive."

"Uh…Yahiko-chan I wouldn't ask that of her if I were you." Kai interrupted.

"Don't call me chan ahou! And why shouldn't I? What is she gonna do, give me the ugly eye or something? She's hardly taller than me and she's a girl who's not even five years older than me, that's not really much of a threat."

"Yahiko, really I wouldn't ask her to do that." Sano said nervously.

"What's with you? Why're you so scared?"

"Yahiko-san…anou…it would not be the wisest decision." Soujiro smiled.

"What is she gonna do?" I squawked, then turned to her and grinned, "Take your best shot."

A small twitch came to her lips and she spoke back quietly, "But it is not my intention to kill you."

"Huh?"

"But if it's what you want…" She rocked back on her heels and slid her feet back.

I was told I was hit a total of 12 times but I saw nothing and felt like a tree had just fallen on me. How the hell she disappeared, beats me. But I know one thing that I really don't get. The time she slid back on her feet was almost the same time I was knocked flat on my back.

I looked up dizzily and saw her standing over me with her moony eyes.

Her lips twitched upwards, "That's what you'll get. Myojin-san, daijobu?"

"H-hai." I stuttered trying to get up.

I stared up at her for a while before she caught my hand in hers and pulled me up. I shouted and stumbled back, falling down and looking up at her. She walked forward slowly and kneeled down in front of me. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, and chills crawl down my spine.

"Something wrong?" She asked me, removing her hat from her head and showing me all her face for the first time.

I felt the heat rise to me cheeks as I looked at her face. She may have looked really creepy, but she was also really pretty. She moved her hand through the air as if she were touching something, her fingers were really really long. I wasn't scared though…okay maybe I was a little scared. I tried to get away from her and she spoke in a zoned out tone, "No need to be afraid Myojin-san."

"What was that?" I asked, my voice shaking a little.

"…Just something I made up very muchly so." She shrugged.

I felt someone standing beside me and I looked up to see Kaoru. She helped me up and I hobbled back to the enigwa.

"Kaoru, did you see her?"

"I didn't see anything." She admitted turning back to Kenshin's sister with a thoughtful look.

I felt someone tap on my shoulder and looked up to see Kenshin. He was still shadowing his face and it sort of made my stomach fall out of place.

"Hai Kenshin?" I asked.

"May I borrow your bokken?" The voice was trying a bad impression of Kenshin's usual congenial voice, but this one was icy.

"Sure." I said handing it over to him.

He still hid his face as he called out, "Tenshi."

"Hai, Sai-san?"

"Any rules?" Kenshin asked and I saw a small smirk appear on his face.

Yeah, something was definitely wrong. Ochita turned her head down and hid her face with her dark red hair. Then something really scary happened. She put on this crazy batty grin, a sure sign that she'd just gone psycho. Her teeth scared the hell out of me and the way the expression stuck to her face made my skin crawl.

"As if you'd follow any of 'em if I did lay some down." I heard a voice that sounded like a blade being unsheathed come from the girl.

"Touché." He snorted.

He stepped down from the enigwa and walked to the center of the yard. We were all looking at each other, wondering what was going on. Sano looked pretty worried, Soujiro had a smile on his face (no surprise there), and itachi was rooting for 'Himura' not really getting that they were both 'Himura', while Kaoru looked like she was going to faint, Aoshi as stoic as ever. After a while of sizing each other up he asked, "Any last requests?"

"Hai. When you reach hell, put in a good word for me." She grinned back.

"Begin!!!" Kenshin shouted.

Domo, for the reviews, very muchly so!!! Keep doing so, Onegai shimasu! (chibi Ochita looks around daydreamily). I'll try to update sooner, very muchly so.


End file.
